Department for Transport

Network Rail

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential savings in each control period to 2019 if Network Rail borrowed to invest from the Government rather than the private sector.

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what interest rate would have been charged if Network Rail had borrowed from the Government in each year of control periods 3, 4 and 5.

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the additional annual cost to Network Rail of borrowing from private financial markets rather than the Government in control periods 3, 4 and 5.

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what interest rate was applied to Network Rail's borrowing from the markets in each year of control periods 3, 4 and 5.

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the (a) total premium Network Rail has paid for borrowing from private financial markets in each year since 2001 and (b) savings Network Rail would have made since 2001 if it had borrowed from the Government and not private financial markets.

Claire Perry: Historically Network Rail was classified to the private sector and borrowed from the markets. Government provided a financial indemnity in return for a fee from Network Rail to Government. The fee was set by the Office of the Rail Regulator to reflect the market cost of the indemnity. The financial indemnity allowed Network Rail to borrow using the strength of the Government’s balance sheet, whilst leaving it the normal private sector freedom to manage its own treasury policy. Following the Office of National Statistic’s announcement that Network Rail would be classified to the public sector from 1 September 2014, Network Rail’s borrowing and liquidity is being managed as part of central Exchequer processes. Department for Transport (DfT) is lending to Network Rail on terms consistent with the Regulator’s expectations of Network Rail’s cost of debt over control period 5. That is, the cost to Network Rail is intended to be broadly unchanged. Previously Network Rail paid a fee to Government for the financial indemnity and interest to the market, which could be thought of as the underlying government benchmark rate (i.e. gilts) plus a small premium. Network Rail now pays the equivalent amount to Government. In control period 5 (CP5: 2014-2019) we estimate a saving to the taxpayer of c.£95m to £190m on debt issuance of £28.5bn (now effectively gilt issuance), assuming that the premium to gilts would have been between 0.2% and 0.4%. Network Rail estimates that the average premium paid over Gilts across control period 3 (CP3) and control period 4 (CP4) was 0.15% to 0.25%. Given the mix of funding and number of instruments issued over time we have not attempted to estimate the theoretical saving to taxpayers if Network Rail had borrowed from Government in CP3 and CP4 and the premium had been retained by the taxpayer. It is also not possible to quantify the potential impact on gilt rates had additional debt been source by the exchequer.

Commuters

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of long-term trends in the length of commuting times.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department holds data collected in the National Travel Survey, via a 7-day travel diary for residents of England, on the average commuting trip duration. The table below shows the average commuting trip duration between 1995 and 2013:YearAverage trip duration (minutes)1995/97241998/0025200227200327200427200527200628200728200828200929201029201128201229201329 These results (along with those for other trip purposes) are published in Table NTS0406, available online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/336364/nts0406.xlsNote: trip duration is based on total journey time including travelling and waiting time.

Travel Information

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the availability of websites which provide information about accessible journeys for disabled passengers after the closure of Transport Direct.

Claire Perry: National accessible journey planning is the one core piece of Transport Direct functionality that was not previously available elsewhere. However, several transport information providers have developed equivalent services. Traveline South, East & Midlands commissioned a national accessible journey planning capability that launched at the end of September. This uses the same data and functionality as Transport Direct, and has been tested and found to give comparable journey plans. Transport for London and Traveline.info plan to offer nationwide accessible planning functionality later in the year.

Travel Information

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the accessibility of travel information and journey planning websites suggested as alternatives after the closure of Transport Direct.

Claire Perry: The alternative sites have been found to offer equivalent functionality to that available on Transport Direct although the user interfaces are not identical. We assessed the accessibility of the public transport sites using screen reader software. This found that the Google journey planner, which is part a highly visual maps-based interface, is not accessible to screen reader users. Traveline South East was found to be accessible but with room for improvement. Traveline.info was not assessed since their new journey planner had not been launched at the time of testing. We are continuing to work with Traveline and other travel information providers to ensure that their user interfaces are made increasingly accessible.

Southeastern

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average increase was in (a) regulated and (b) unregulated passenger rail fares for (i) peak and (ii) off peak rail services provided under franchise by London and South East Railway Limited in each year since 2006.

Claire Perry: The average permitted annual increase in regulated rail fares set by London and South East Railway Ltd (LSER) in each year since 2006 was as follows: 2006 – 3.9%; 2007 – 6.3%; 2008 – 6.8%; 2009 – 8%; 2010 – 2.4%;2011 – 7.8%; 2012 – 6%; 2013 – 4.2%; 2014 – 3.1% Regulated fares include weekly/monthly/annual season tickets, day singles and returns (including Oyster Pay as You Go in London) and long-distance off-peak return fares. The Department does not hold information about increases in unregulated fares. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) publishes an index showing the average change in price in all rail fares from 2004, with fares at January 2004 shown as 100. The information is not shown by individual Train Operator but grouped together as London and South East, Long Distance and Regional, with LSER fares included in London and the South East. JanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuary200620072008200920102011201220132014109.6115.1121.8130.1130.6139.3147.8154.4158.7The full table can be found on ORR’s website at:http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/00a7c389-7c31-4152-ab18-f99dd65e28d7

GoVia

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the written Statement of 11 September 2014, by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Official Report, column 42WS, on rail franchising (Southeastern), what contractual guarantees have been secured from Govia about training for existing staff during the term of the directly awarded franchise.

Claire Perry: The franchise agreement does have contractual guarantees on training for existing staff. This is in addition to the normal responsibilities the operator has for training its staff to meet its business requirements. We will publish the Franchise Agreement in due course athttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-register-of-rail-passenger-franchise-agreements .

Large Goods Vehicles

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of safe, affordable areas for heavy goods vehicle drivers to park and rest at night and access to toilet facilities and good quality food; and if he will take steps to ensure that capacity in such facilities is in line with demand.

Claire Perry: A survey conducted for the Department in 2010-11 found there were over 270 parking areas within five kilometres of the Strategic Route Network, including Motorway and Trunk Road Service Areas. Facilities varied but most offered toilets and food. The survey also found that parking areas were on average full to 61% of capacity, while 41% of heavy goods vehicles were parked elsewhere. It is Government policy that the provision of parking areas is a matter for local authorities and the private sector, who are best placed to judge local traffic conditions and needs. Parking charges are also a matter for the commercial judgement of parking operators but all Motorway Service Areas are required by the Department to offer two hours’ free parking to all vehicles.

Southeastern

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average (a) regulated and (b) unregulated passenger rail fare was for (i) peak and (ii) off peak rail services provided under franchise by London and South East Railway Limited in each year since 2006.

Claire Perry: The Department does not hold this information. The information may be available from the train operator itself or from the Association of Train Operating Companies.

Southeastern

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the negotiations between his Department and London and South East Railway Limited for the direct award of the South Eastern rail passenger franchise to June 2018.

Claire Perry: The total comes to £1,040,000 including VAT. This includes estimates for September and October.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many officials in his Department of what (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.

Claire Perry: The attached table provides the information requested. The figures for ethnicity are based on employees who have declared their ethnicity and exclude those of unknown ethnicity.  The information in the response excludes the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and Vehicle Certification Agency which do not have comparable performance management systems.   



209491_ table performance management marks 2013-14
(Excel SpreadSheet, 41.5 KB)

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many officials in his Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.

Claire Perry: The table below provides the data requested exceededmetmust improveTotalnumber of staff1,4027,1067559,263proportion of staff15%77%8%100% 9,263 employees in the Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013/14. This does not include 4688 employees in the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and 158 employees in the Vehicle Certification Agency as these Agencies do not have a comparable performance management system. (i) 1,402 employees (15%) qualified for a bonus and(ii) 7,861 employees (85%) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many officials in his Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.

Claire Perry: The table below provides the information requested. The figures for disability are based on employees who have declared their disability status.   exceeded met must improve Total All staff 1,4027,1067559,263Disability status Non-disabled1,1085,4665047,078Disabled6949470633Working pattern Full-time 1,2886,1146388,040Part-time 1149921171,223The information provided in the response excludes the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and Vehicle Certification Agency which do not have comparable performance management systems.

Home Office

Domestic Violence: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many domestic violence arrests were made in Barnsley East constituency in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker: The requested arrests data are not collected centrally.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in Barnsley East constituency were prosecuted for breaches of anti-social behaviour orders in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013.

Norman Baker: Information on proceedings for the offence of breach of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order, which is collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice and held on the Court Proceedings Database, does not include the constituency in which the ASBO recipient resides. This detailed information is only held by courts on individual case files and is not reported to the Ministry of Justice.It is therefore not possible to determine from centrally held information how many people in Barnsley East constituency have been proceeded against for breach of an ASBO.

Asylum

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the UK's compliance with its international obligations on stateless individuals.

James Brokenshire: The UK is a signatory to the 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the 1930 Special Protocol concerning Statelessness. The 1961 Convention clearly sets out the circumstances in which it is permissible to remove citizenship and leave a person stateless and when it is not. Recent amendments to the power contained in the UK’s domestic legislation regarding removal of British citizenship were made in accordance with these obligations. Also, following the statement by the Prime Minister to the House on 1 September, the Government is working on proposals for action against British nationals fighting abroad, and is ensuring that these too will be compliant with the UK’s international obligations.

UK Visas and Immigration

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of correspondence from hon. Members to each UK Visas and Immigration regional account management team was responded to within the 20 working day target in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: The current regional structure was established in April 2013. The proportion of correspondence responded to within the 20 working day target since then by UK Visas & Immigration is as follows:Jan – June 2014 Performance %National 82%London and South East 86%Midlands, East of England and International 81%North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland 80%North West, Wales and South West 75%April – December 2013 Performance %National 66%London and South East 73%Midlands, East of England and International 71%North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland 59%North West, Wales and South West 41%The regional figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

Immigration Controls: Infectious Diseases

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has put in place to ensure that UK Border staff identify and segregate travellers suspected of entering the UK whilst carrying a virulent communicable disease.

James Brokenshire: Border Force has well established plans to deal with a variety of incidents at the border including dealing with communicable diseases. Border Force officers refer people subject to immigration control who they suspect have a serious communicable disease to a medical inspector on arrival at the UK border.Guidance has been circulated to all frontline officers and reinforced by verbal briefings from senior managers. Border Force continues to work closely with Public Health England to minimise any potential risk to passengers, the public and our staff.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officials in her Department of what (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officials in her Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officials in her Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.

Karen Bradley: The Equality Act 2010 requires each public sector organisation to report its monitoring arrangements against each of its HR policies by 31 January after the previous financial-year end in order to discharge their Public Sector Equality Duty. This means that information relating to the performance period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 is currently the subject of a pre-publication embargo and is withheld under Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act. Following publication of the data relating to the composition of performance ratings by protected groups (expected late October 2014) and of reward data (bonus awards) published as part of the wider Transparency Agenda (late autumn 2014), I will provide a more detailed response to your enquiry.

Public Records

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what targets have been set for the release of her Department's material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in her Department are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Karen Bradley: Home Office targets for review of historical material are those set by the Public Records Acts as amended by the transition period for the reduction of the ’30 year rule’ to a ’20 year rule’ established in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 and its enacting secondary legislation. For 2014, the statutory requirement is for records dated 1985 and 1986 to be transferred to The National Archives by the end of the calendar year. The department reports its progress against the requirements of the transition period to The National Archive on a bi-annual basis, which is then published on The National Archive’s website:http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/record-transfer-report.htm.The last report was made in Spring 2014, the next is due this autumn. The Home Office has a team of 10 staff engaged in review of its historical records.

Drugs: South Yorkshire

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in (a) Barnsley East constituency and (b) South Yorkshire have been arrested for possession of (i) Class A, (ii) Class B and (iii) Class C drugs in the last year; and what steps her Department is taking to rehabiliate people convicted of drug-related offences.

Norman Baker: The information requested on arrests is not available centrally. Data on arrests for drug offences reported to the Home Office cannot be separated to identify arrests for possession of specific drug classes.The Coalition Government strongly supports local investment in Integrated Offender Management approaches, including identifying drug-using offenders anddirecting them to treatment. This includes the provision of drug recovery wing pilots, focused on abstinence and connecting offenders with community drug recovery services on release, and testing an end-to-end approach to tackle addiction in the adult resettlement prisons in the North West, aimed at improving access for people with drug and/or alcohol dependency in custody and ‘Through the Prison Gate’ to existing treatment and associated health services in the community.In addition we are currently working to provide access to Liaison and Diversion services, which operate by referring offenders who are identified as having mental health needs including substance misuse to an appropriate treatment or support service, as soon as they come into contact with the criminal justice system. This could be via voluntary attendance at a police station, in a custody suite or at court.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Burkina Faso

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what presence his Department has in Burkina Faso; and what steps his Department is taking to support a peaceful transition of presidential power in Burkina Faso in 2015.

James Duddridge: The UK has an Honorary Consul in Burkina Faso who provides basic consular assistance to British Nationals as and when required. Our High Commissioner to Ghana is currently awaiting accreditation as non-resident Ambassador to Burkina Faso. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for International Development visited Burkina Faso in February 2014.The UK supports the democratic process in Burkina Faso and wishes to see peaceful and constitutional elections in 2015, in order to secure Burkina Faso’s own stability and that of the region. We are working with partners on the ground, including the European Union, to make clear to the Government of Burkina Faso international concern about possible attempts to amend the constitution ahead of the elections.

Burkina Faso

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effects of political instability in Burkina Faso on (a) the Sahelian region and (b) the Ebola outbreak.

James Duddridge: Serious political instability in Burkina Faso would have a wider effect given the fragility of the Sahel region. Burkina Faso has demonstrated commitment to ensuring regional stability through its role as a mediator on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) during the Mali crisis, and as a major contributor to the United Nations Multi-Dimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali. We are working with international partners to make clear to the Burkina Faso government our desire to see this positive approach to external stability mirrored domestically.The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is an unprecedented human tragedy. The UN has declared it a public health crisis requiring an urgent international response.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 17 March 2014 to Question 191665, if his Department will respond in writing to the final report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism dated 28 February 2014 by the Human Rights Council expert meeting on 22 September 2014 concerning the use of armed drones.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have no plans to respond in writing to the report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism dated 28 February 2014. However, the United Kingdom was represented at the UN Human Rights Council expert meeting on 22 September, where we once again set out our position on the legality of Remotely Piloted Air Systems.

Pitcairn Islands

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues as part of the process of approval of marine protection for the Pitcairn Islands; and if he will make a statement.

James Duddridge: I have not had any formal discussions with ministerial colleagues about the proposal for a no-take Marine Protected Area (MPA) within Pitcairn’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) since being appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office on 11 August 2014. Senior officials are currently considering these proposals and will provide advice to Ministers in due course.

Nigeria

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports his Department has received on the situation of the kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria; and if he will make a statement.

James Duddridge: The UK continues to support the Nigerian authorities in trying to establish the location of the abducted schoolgirls. We provide surveillance assets, in the form of RAF Tornados, to assist in the search and expertise to assist in intelligence analysis. The resolve of Nigeria, the UK and international community to continue the search remains strong.On 3 September I led the UK delegation to the ministerial meeting in Abuja on security in Nigeria, attended by Nigeria’s neighbours and international partners. I emphasised the crucial importance of regional coordination to locating the girls taken from Chibok and to defeating Boko Haram.

Arctic

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials in his Department work exclusively on Arctic issues; and what the (a) title of position and (b) grade is of each such official.

James Duddridge: A range of officials from across Government departments input into the UK’s Arctic policy, reflecting the breadth of the UK’s policy interests in the Arctic as set out in the Government’s Arctic Policy Framework. Within the FCO, no one works exclusively on Arctic issues but a number of officials from across the office work collaboratively to develop the UK’s Arctic policy. The policy is coordinated by the Polar Regions Department, headed by a senior SMS1 official, and which chairs the cross-Government network. There is considerable input from posts in the eight Arctic States and the Arctic Council observer states, and from relevant policy officials and legal advisors in London on issues such as climate change, energy, international law and maritime policy.

Arctic Council

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the goals of the UK are, as an Arctic Council observer state, for the Canadian chairmanship of the Arctic Council from 2013 to 2015.

James Duddridge: The Government’s aim for the Arctic is to work towards a region that is safe and secure; well governed in conjunction with indigenous peoples and in line with international law; where policies are developed on the basis of sound science with full regard to the environment; and where only responsible development takes place. The UK supports the Canadian priorities for its Chairmanship of the Arctic Council, particularly around strengthening the Arctic Council; safe Arctic shipping; and responsible resource development, all of which are in line with the Government’s full Arctic policy as outlined in its Arctic Policy Framework: Adapting To Change, published in October 2013.

Cabinet Office

Pay: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what change there has been in median gross weekly pay for (a) men and (b) women in Barnsley East constituency in each year since 2010.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Median Gross Weekly Pay
(PDF Document, 148.55 KB)

Housing: Owner Occupation

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people owned their own home in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Home Owned
(PDF Document, 524.29 KB)

Polygamy

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of couples who have polygamous marriages in (a) England and (b) Wales where one partner is married to another in a legal ceremony and where at least one partner is simultaneously also married to a third party in an unregistered religious ceremony.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of polygamous marriages in (a) England and (b) Wales.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Polygamous Marriages
(PDF Document, 171.74 KB)

Public Records

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what targets have been set for the release of his Department's material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in his Department are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Mr Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office, in line with government policy, has begun the transition towards releasing records when they are 20 years old. The Department is on target to complete this process by 2022 by delivering two years’ worth of government records to the National Archives each year.Approximately 20 members of staff are engaged in some capacity to ensure and maintain this progress.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many 16 year olds are currently in receipt of jobseeker's allowance.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Jobseekers Allowance
(PDF Document, 97.38 KB)

Attorney General

Crime: Victims

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Attorney General, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that a victim of crime who is under 18 years of age and who has no legal guardian or person with parental responsibility can gain access to the Crown Prosecution Service Victims' Right to Review Scheme; and by what means such a victim would gain such access.

Mr Robert Buckland: For the purposes of the scheme, the definition of a victim is that set out in the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime as “any person who has made an allegation to the police, or had an allegation made on his or her behalf, that they have been directly subjected to criminal conduct under the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS).”   Victims of crime who are under 18 may therefore directly request a review under the CPS Victims’ Right to Review Scheme without the intervention of a parent or legal guardian.   The scheme is easy to access for all victims. Information about the scheme and contact details of the office to which a referral can be made is given to victims by the police or CPS when the decision not to prosecute is communicated. This communication will be made suitable to the age and understanding of the victim.   Access to the scheme is by post, telephone or email. There is no prescribed form or format and all communication is with trained staff.   Where a request is received directly from a victim aged under 18, enquiries are made with the child and where necessary, with the police officer in charge of the victim’s case, to establish that appropriate adult support is available.

Harassment

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Attorney General, how many stalking and harassment cases were recorded in each year since 2011.

Mr Robert Buckland: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) indicate the number of offences charged, in which a prosecution commenced at magistrates’ courts, rather than identifying the number of defendants prosecuted. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 created the offence of harassment and latterly, as amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, stalking.   In each year since 2011-12 the number of offences charged by way of the stalking or harassment offences under the Act is as follows:2011-20122012-20132013-2014Protection from Harassment Act 1997{ 2A(1) and (4) }072529Protection from Harassment Act 1997{ 4A(1)(a)(b)(i) and (5) }0965Protection from Harassment Act 1997{ 4A(1)(a)(b)(ii) and (5) }010149TOTAL - STALKING OFFENCES091743Protection from Harassment Act 1997{ 2(1) and (2) }7,7137,1598,303Protection from Harassment Act 1997{ 4(1) and (4) }1,6321,3981,489TOTAL - HARASSMENT OFFENCES9,3458,5579,792TOTAL S2, S2A, S4 & S4A PHA 1997 OFFENCES9,3458,64810,535Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System   There is no indication of the number of individual defendants prosecuted for these offences or the final outcome of the prosecution proceeding or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalisation. It is often the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same victim.

Pay

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Attorney General, how many (a) direct employees, (b) outsourced workers and (c) workers in agencies which report to the Law Officers' Departments are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Mr Robert Buckland: The CPS currently employs one member of staff whose salary is below the rate defined by the Living Wage Foundation. As a result of proposed changes to pay ranges, this employee will be paid a salary in excess of the living wage once the associated collective bargaining process has concluded. This will be backdated to 1 April 2014.   No direct employees of the Treasury Solicitor’s Office are paid less than the living wage. However, at 30 September 2014 The Treasury Solicitor’s Office had eleven temporary workers in London receiving less than the living wage although this position will change after 12 weeks of engagement in line with the Agency Workers legislation. At that point, their salary will increase to a higher rate of pay comparable to the rate of a direct employee. All other temporary workers are paid more than the living wage.   No direct employees or temporary workers employed by the remaining Law Officers' Departments are paid less than the living wage.A complete record on the pay arrangements for staff employed by companies contracted to provide services to the Law Officers' Departments is not held and could not be provided without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Attorney General, how many officials in the Law Officers' Departments of each (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.

Mr Robert Buckland: The following tables contain the information requested for officials in the Law Officers’ Departments who received a performance appraisal in the 2013-14 reporting year. Ethnicity data is based on confidential voluntary declarations and therefore only covers staff who have chosen to make such a declaration. Crown Prosecution Service 1GenderExceeded Achieved(Met)Not Achieved(Must Improve)Female474322557Male263167537EthnicityExceededAchieved(Met)Not Achieved(Must Improve)BME9276235White562351347   AgeExceededAchieved(Met)Not Achieved(Must Improve)16-19*36*20-2957320*30-3918711621540-4930218874050-5916812753360-6417171*65+*49* 1. The source data has been extracted from the CPS e-PDR database using the base data report of 29/09/14. Consequent change to data input may mean that this data will change at some point in the future. * Staff numbers which are less than five have been suppressed to preserve staff confidentiality. Treasury Solicitor’s Department 1GenderExceeded MetMust ImproveFemale23252527Male12033728EthnicityExceededMetMust ImproveAsian/Asian British21627Black/African/Carib1864*Mixed/multiple ethnic624*Other Ethnic*8*White18337120   AgeExceededMetMust Improve16-24***25-293037*30-3479125535-3964159540-4465143*45-49361051250-5435104755-591346860-64719565+*10* 1. Tsol data also covers staff employed by the Attorney General’s Office and HMCPSI. * Staff numbers which are less than five have been suppressed to preserve staff confidentiality.   Serious Fraud Office1GenderOutstanding(Exceeded)Effective(Met)Unsatisfactory(Must Improve)Female2886*Male37116*EthnicityOutstanding(Exceeded)Effective(Met)Unsatisfactory(Must Improve)BME947*White44108*   AgeOutstanding(Exceeded)Effective(Met)Unsatisfactory(Must Improve)25 or under*9*26-351451*36-452361*46-551857*56+824* * Staff numbers which are less than five have been suppressed to preserve staff confidentiality.

Public Records

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Attorney General, what targets have been set for the release of The Law Officers' Departments' material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in The Law Officers' Departments are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Mr Robert Buckland: The Attorney General’s Office and the HM Crown Prosecution Service do not have any internal targets for the release of material to the National Archives (TNA) beyond the normal annual transfer. Neither office has anyone working full time on the transfer of material to TNA.   The Serious Fraud Office, which was formed in 1988, is currently undertaking an extensive review of all aspects of data and record retention and disposal, including transfer of material to the TNA under the 20 year rule. A number of staff are engaged in this work but it is not possible to separate staff resources involved in reviewing records for transfer from the overall staff resources involved in the review.   The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has an internal target to transfer approximately 80 criminal case files per calendar year to the TNA. To date the CPS has transferred cases up to 1977.   To meet the transitional timetable for moving from the 30 to 20 year rule, the CPS has outsourced the work required to prepare cases for permanent preservation for the years 1978 to 1984. 1978 cases will be ready for transfer to TNA by January, 2015. For 1979 to 1984 cases, applications for closure will be put before the next Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Council meeting in February, 2015.   The CPS has two full time case reviewers.   In 2013 the Treasury Solicitor’s Department (TSol) transferred 10 records to The TNA under the 20 year rule. TSol will meet the targets set to transfer records to TNA this year. An outstanding backlog of 300 files identified prior to the introduction of the 20 year rule was also transferred to TNA during 2013.   There are currently two staff in TSol engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Attorney General, how many officials in the Law Officers' Departments who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.

Mr Robert Buckland: The following tables contain the information requested for officials in the Law Officers’ Departments who received a performance appraisal in the 2013-14 reporting year. Disability data is based on confidential voluntary declarations and therefore only covers staff who have chosen to make such a declaration.   Crown Prosecution Service1 ExceededAchieved(Met)Not Achieved(Must Improve)Declared - Disabled3431113Full Time635360174Part Time102129920 1. The source data has been extracted from the CPS e-PDR database using the base data report of 29/09/14. Consequent change to data input may mean that this data will change at some point in the future.   Treasury Solicitor’s Department1 ExceededMetMust ImproveDeclared - Disabled1131**Full Time28665847Part Time662048 1. TSol data also covers staff employed by the Attorney General’s Office and HMCPSI. ** Staff numbers which are less than five have been suppressed to preserve staff confidentiality.Serious Fraud Office Outstanding(Exceeded)Effective(Met)Unsatisfactory(Must Improve)Declared - Disabled*11*Full Time62177*Part Time*25* * Staff numbers which are less than five have been suppressed to preserve staff confidentiality.

Social Security Benefits: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Attorney General, how many recipients of benefits resident in the London Borough of Havering have been prosecuted as a result of fraudulent claims in each year since January 2011.

Mr Robert Buckland: Since April 2012, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been responsible for prosecuting benefit fraud offences investigated by the DWP and Local Authorities. The CPS does not hold data for prosecutions of benefit fraud prior to April 2012.   Furthermore the CPS does not keep records of prosecutions of benefit fraud by recipients of benefits resident in the London Borough of Havering.   To produce this information would require reviewing individual case files which would incur disproportionate cost.

Crown Prosecution Service

Jesse Norman: To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Crown Prosecution Service complaints procedure; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) complaints handling procedures were inspected by Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate in January 2013. Recommendations from that inspection have been implemented, which included incorporating independent oversight. An Independent Assessor of Complaints (IAC) was appointed in May 2013. The IAC’s role includes acting as the guardian of the CPS Feedback and Complaints policy, and assessing the quality of complaints handling. The IAC reports his findings annually to the CPS Board.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Exports: North East

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of UK Export Finance went to companies in the North East in each year since 2010.

Matthew Hancock: UK Export Finance (UKEF) provides support for UK exports, principally by providing guarantees to banks in relation to UK exports, and insurance policies to exporters against the financial risks of exporting.   UKEF does not routinely record information relating to the location of the companies it supports. An ad-hoc analysis of companies supported in FY 2013/14 showed that 6% of the 130 supported were headquartered in the North East. UKEF also indirectly supports companies based in the North East who participate in the supply chains of larger exporters (e.g. Airbus).   In addition UKEF has two Export Finance Advisers located in the North East who act as local contact points to introduce exporters and businesses with export potential to finance providers, credit insurers, trade bodies and other sources of Government support. They work alongside UK Trade & Investment’s (UKTI’s) International Trade Advisers to provide a comprehensive package of support for companies in the region. UKTI North East has a regional team of six Civil Servants based in Gateshead, and the North East International Trade Centre in Sunderland the base for its team of 20 International Trade Advisers, it is also the location of marketing, finance and trade team support / international trade hotline. UKTI advisors in the north east successfully assisted in winning around £70m of exports orders last year and are on track to do the same this year.

Arms Trade: Trade Fairs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the letter he received in February 2014 from the law firm Hodge Jones and Allen setting out alleged breaches of law at the Defence and Security Equipment International arms fair in 2013; whether any enforcement actions have been taken in response to this letter; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: Responsibility for investigating potential breaches of UK export controls falls to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). I am assured that HMRC fully and properly considered the alleged breaches at the 2013 Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition, as they would in any case where potential breaches are detected or where there are credible allegations of an offence. In this instance, HMRC determined that further action was neither appropriate nor viable.

Arms Trade: Trade Fairs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2014, Official Report, column 348W, on arms trade: trade fairs, what consideration his Department gave to any previous breaches of arms control legislation by exhibitors during the process of agreeing the Memorandum of Understanding between his Department and Clarion; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between BIS and Clarion Events was set in place in 2013 to give Clarion the authority they need to control the activities of their exhibitors at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition. It sets out Clarion’s role and responsibilities, and those of the exhibitor companies, regarding export and trade control legislation.The process of agreeing the MOU drew on the experience of previous exhibitions. The MOU contains specific provisos instructing Clarion to inform their exhibitors that, where required, they must apply to the Export Control Organisation in their own right for the appropriate export and trade control licences. The MOU also enables Clarion to refuse participation at DSEI to any exhibitors not complying with the legislation.

Arms Trade: Eastern Europe

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many extant arms export licences there are for the government of (a) Ukraine and (b) Russia.

Matthew Hancock: There are no extant licences for export of arms to the governments of Ukraine or Russia.

Trade Agreements

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2014 to Question 207177, whether the text of the prudential carve-out will be published before the Trade in Services Agreement is finalised.

Matthew Hancock: The text will be released as part of a whole package when negotiations are complete.

Trade Agreements

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2014 to Question 207177, how the text of the prudential carve-out in the Trade in Services Agreement will be agreed.

Matthew Hancock: The European Commission negotiates on behalf of the EU according to instructions from its members. Member States are consulted for their views on the content of each negotiating paper.The European Commission’s negotiators have the opportunity to discuss and amend texts through rounds of talks until a consensus is reached by all TiSA members.

Disabled Students' Allowances

Mrs Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the proposed changes to the disabled students' allowance on the participation in higher education of students with high needs.

Mrs Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Government's proposed changes to the disabled students' allowances on the drop-out rate of students who will no longer be eligible for funding.

Mrs Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Government's proposed changes to the disabled students' allowances on the employment prospects of students who will no longer be eligible for funding.

Greg Clark: The Equality Analysis is currently being updated in light of information and evidence provided by stakeholders. It will be published in the autumn.

Regional Growth Fund: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many projects in Barnsley East constituency have (a) applied for funding, (b) been selected to receive funding and (c) received final offer letters from the Regional Growth Fund in the latest period for which figures are available.

Greg Clark: In Rounds 1-5 of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) three projects in the Barnsley East constituency applied for RGF funding. As of September 2014 one project has been selected to receive RGF funding and it has received a final offer letter.

Apprentices

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprenticeship starts there were in each academic year in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley local authority area, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) England since 2010.

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people in Barnsley East constituency are enrolled in adult skills sessions.

Nick Boles: Final data for the 2012/13 academic year show that there were 5,930 adult (19+) learners participating in government funded further education and skills in Barnsley East constituency. Information on Apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release (SFR):https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/324021/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls

Disabled Students' Allowances

Mrs Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what consultation his Department undertook with universities, providers of support and students prior to the announcement of 7 April 2014 on proposals to change the disabled students' allowance.

Greg Clark: In 2013 the Government sought the views of stakeholders through a Call for Evidence on areas of Disabled Students Allowance. The Statement of April 7 2014 was followed by extensive discussions with stakeholders, students and their representatives and disability organisations.

EU External Trade: USA

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2014, Official Report, column 730W, on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, who carried out the independent analysis; what their terms of reference were; and what the cost of that analysis was.

Matthew Hancock: A team led by Professor Joseph Francois, organised by the Centre for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR), carried out the analysis. The following project requirements are taken from the terms of tender document. The project was costed at £72,600 excluding VAT.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials in his Department of each (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.

Jo Swinson: In common with other Government Departments, BIS has three performance management categories, but uses the titles Category 1, Category 2, and Category 3. Category 1 encompasses our high performers, while Category 3 has been expanded, in comparison to other Departments, to place more emphasis on identifying those who have greater learning or development needs and providing them with more focused development opportunities and support, as well as including poor performers.It was anticipated that 20 – 25% of BIS staff would fall into the third category during the 2013-14 reporting year.The following table shows the number of males and females that were awarded each performance rating during the 2013-14 performance management year.NumberCategory 1Category 2Category 3TotalMale2266182101054Female2606551681083 The following table sets out the 2013/14 performance ratings awarded to employees who have declared their ethnicity, and those who have not make a declaration against this characteristic. In order to maintain anonymity, any data for any groups in which less than 5 individuals fall under one category has been suppressed. Analysis of the 2013/14 performance management outcomes is correct for those that have made a declaration, however, diversity declarations are voluntary and are currently low within BIS. Therefore, any attempt to consider these findings as being representative for the Department, as a whole, should be viewed with caution as we are not confident that the data is an accurate reflection for all staff with protected characteristics. This is especially the case when considering ethnicity, as less than 10% of staff have a recorded ethnicity declaration. NumberCategory 1Category 2Category 3TotalWhite6413136231BME7321554Undeclared41411073271848Prefer not to say***4 The following table provides the performance ratings awarded to each age group during the 2013/14 performance management year. In order to maintain anonymity, any data for groups in which less than 5 individuals fall under one category has been suppressed. NumberCategory 1Category 2Category 3Total20-24***2325-296590816330-34831552326135-39631674527540-44611655428045-49922498342450-54642106934355-59381445824060-6411632610065 & over***26Unspecified***2 The current BIS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy aims to improve performance outcomes for minority groups, with particular focus on Black and Minority Ethnic staff, disabled staff and older workers. Various methods are being used to do this, such as mandatory unconscious bias training for managers, a new Reverse Mentoring programme to expose leaders to diversity within BIS and consistency checking and validation processes across directorates for performance ratings.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials in his Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.

Jo Swinson: In common with other Government Departments, BIS has three performance management categories, but uses the titles Category 1, Category 2, and Category 3. Category 1 encompasses our high performers, while Category 3 has been expanded, in comparison to other Departments, to place more emphasis on identifying those who have greater learning or development needs and providing them with more focused development opportunities and support, as well as including poor performers.It was anticipated that 20 – 25% of BIS staff would fall into the third category during the 2013-14 reporting year.The following table shows the number of individuals that have declared a disability who were awarded each performance rating in 2013-14 and the number of other staff that received each rating within that performance year. Diversity declarations are voluntary and currently within BIS they are low. Analysis of the 2013/14 performance management outcomes is correct for those that have made a declaration. However, any attempt to consider these findings as being representative for the Department, as a whole, should be viewed with caution as we are not confident that the data is an accurate reflection for staff with protected characteristics. Number of IndividualsCategory 1Category 2Category 3TotalThose who have declared a disability268848162All other staff46011853301975The following table demonstrates the number of individuals that that work part-time and full-time that were awarded each performance rating in 2013-14. Number of IndividualsCategory 1Category 2Category 3TotalPart-time5817745280Full-time42810963331857The current BIS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy aims to improve performance outcomes for minority groups, with particular focus on Black and Minority Ethnic staff, disabled staff and older workers. Various methods are being used to do this, such as mandatory unconscious bias training for managers, a new Reverse Mentoring programme to expose leaders to the diversity within BIS and consistency checking and validation processes across directorates for performance ratings.

Public Records

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what targets have been set for the release of his Department's material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in his Department are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Jo Swinson: All BIS records are released to the National Archives in accordance with the Public Record Act and the 20 year rule (previously 30 years).All BIS records have been re-dated for review from 30 to 20 years.There are two full time EO members of staff (and one HEO manager) working on record review. The team review BIS and DECC records – as part of a K&I shared service.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials in his Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.

Jo Swinson: In common with other Government Departments, BIS uses three performance management categories, but uses the titles Category 1, Category 2, and Category 3. Category 1 encompasses our high performers, while Category 3 has been expanded, in comparison to other Departments, to place more emphasis on identifying those who have greater learning or development needs to enable them to be provided with more focused development opportunities and support, as well as including poor performers.It was anticipated that 20 – 25% of BIS staff would fall into the third category during the 2013-14 reporting year.The following table provides the number of individuals that were awarded each of these category ratings for the 2013-14 performance year, and the individuals that qualified for the performance award as a result of this. Category 1Category 2Category 3Total NumberCompleted performance management486 (23%)1273 (60%)378 (18%)2137 (100%)Qualified for Performance Award486 (100% of category)0 (0%)0 (0%)486 (23%)Performance awards at BIS are non-consolidated and non-pensionable. They are used to drive high performance, have to be earned each year against pre-determined objectives and do not add to future pay bills. The payments are entirely related to staff performance, and so were awarded to individuals that had received a Category 1 performance rating following the end of year performance appraisals for 2013-14.

Foreign Investment: Colombia

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to ensure that the forthcoming UK-Colombia bilateral investment treaty includes adequate protection for UK investors.

Matthew Hancock: The UK-Colombia Bilateral Investment Treaty was negotiated in 2008-09. It aims to protect investors from discriminatory treatment. The agreement includes Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions to enable investors to claim compensation through independent international arbitration if they believe the standards of protection set out in the treaty have been breached whilst protecting the ability of the host government to regulate in the public interest in areas such as the environment.

Department for International Development

India

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department provides to ethnic Chin refugees in India who are victims of sexual violence.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID does not provide specific funding for ethnic Chin refugees in India who are victims of sexual violence. Improving the lives of women and girls is, however, a significant aspect of DFID’s programme in India which includes developing an evidence-based strategy to prevent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

Developing Countries: Disability

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether education will be a priority sector for her Department's disability framework; and whether her Department's country offices will recieve training and support to implement the framework.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID is currently preparing a departmental framework on disability inclusion, which will set out how to strengthen disability inclusion across the department. Education is one of the areas that will be included in the framework, alongside other sectors. The framework will outline how staff will receive further training and support on disability inclusion. This will include developing new guidance and tools for staff on disability inclusion in education programming.

South Africa

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with the South African government about the integration of black and minority ethnic groups into the wealth creating process; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID bilateral assistance to South Africa provides support to the Government of South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP), a key objective of which is to broaden social cohesion and redress inequalities of the past. This includes funding specifically aimed at promoting inclusive growth and the environment for job creation.   DFID’s current bilateral development programme in South Africa will end in 2015. The UK’s engagement with South Africa from 2015 will, however, include a focus on sharing skills and knowledge to accelerate poverty reduction and tackle inequality.

South Africa

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to increase the availability of contraceptives to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS as part of her Department's programme in South Africa; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID’s bilateral assistance to South Africa includes support to the South African National Strategic Plan covering HIV and AIDS. This has supported an improvement in access to HIV / AIDS health services in selected districts, and strengthened systems to effectively monitor and evaluate national plans for HIV / AIDS. DFID’s current bilateral development programme in South Africa will end in 2015. The UK’s engagement with South Africa from 2015 will, however, include a focus on sharing skills and knowledge to accelerate poverty reduction and tackle inequality, providing access to international best practice in areas like health. To this end, in 2014 a bilateral UK – South Africa Memorandum of Understanding on health was signed to provide an overall framework for future cooperation and exchange.

Africa

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the success of her Department's efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa through the aid progamme; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: In November 2013 the Department for International Development published a review of the UK’s 2011 HIV position paper, “Towards Zero Infections-Two Years On”. This paper provides an assessment of progress against key results, including in Africa where the majority of our HIV programmes are, to help DFID learn lessons and reassess its priorities to 2015.   We have been making good progress against our expected results. Treatment related commitments have already been achieved, and the remaining targets set out in the HIV position paper are on track to be met by 2015.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, in what country the fund managers for the CP3 Asia Fund will be based.

Lynne Featherstone: The fund managers for CP3 Asia will be based in Hong Kong. CP3 Asia has been renamed ‘Asia Climate Partners’ by the fund managers.

Department for Education

Children's Centres: South Yorkshire

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sure Start centres there were in South Yorkshire in (a) May 2010 and (b) September 2014.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Local authorities in the South Yorkshire area listed their children’s centres on the Sure Start children’s centre database as follows. At 30 April 2010Main CCs / Additional SitesAt 30 Sept 2014Main CCs / Additional SitesBarnsley19 / 019 / 0Doncaster21 / 020 / 1Rotherham22 / 022 / 0Sheffield36 / 016 / 20Additional sites are places open to families and children providing Children's Centre services as part of a network. They were formerly children's centres in their own right and, while they no longer meet the statutory definition of a Children’s Centre, they remain open offering access to some of the early childhood services on behalf of another children's centre.The April 2010 data was published in the statistical release in June 2010.[1]The number of children’s centres at 30 September 2014 is taken from the ‘Sure Start On’ database that is maintained by local authorities and is Ofsted’s main source of information for arranging inspection of children’s centres.Statistics on children’s centre numbers were last published by the Department on 30 April and relate to data at 28 February and include the numbers for each local authority.[2]The data from the ‘Sure Start On’ database informs the Directgov children’s centre finder which enables the public to find their nearest children’s centre using a post code search. [3][1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/numbers-of-sure-start-childrens-centres-april-2010[2] www.childrenscentresfinder.direct.gov.uk/snapshot-childrens-centre/[3] www.childrenscentresfinder.direct.gov.uk/childrenscentresfinder/

Offences against Children

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the recommendation of the World Health Organisations' European report on preventing child maltreatment, published in 2013, that national governments adopt a preventative and public health approach to child maltreatment.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Government recognises the long-term impact of child maltreatment. We are committed to safeguarding children from abuse and maltreatment, and our approach is based on prevention, using effective multi-agency working to protect children from harm. This approach is at the heart of our statutory guidance, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’, published in 2013, which sets out the roles and responsibilities of all relevant services, and how they should work together.

Offences against Children

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what total amount her Department spent on all measures aimed at tackling child abuse and neglect in each of the last five financial years.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what total amount her Department spent on primary preventative measures aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect in each of the last five years.

Mr Edward Timpson: Most statutory spending on child abuse and neglect is included within local authority core funding for children’s social care which comes from the Department for Community and Local Government’s Formula Grant, and from local taxation. Whilst this funding is not ring-fenced, it is for local authorities to decide how to apply their funding across all the services they deliver. The Department for Education would expect all local authorities to prioritise services for their most vulnerable children and young people. A report from the Audit Commission published in November 2013 found that children’s social care has been largely protected from spending reductions from 2010/11 to 2013/14.[1] Council spending on children’s social care on average increased by 1.2 % in real terms over this period and aggregate spending on children’s social care was set to increase by a further 0.4 % from 2012/13 to 2013/14. In addition, over the period 2010/11 to 2014/15, this Department has spent between £30 and £50 million per year on safeguarding, which includes programmes whose focus is to prevent and tackle abuse and neglect. This spending has fulfilled specific work by local authorities and by voluntary and community sector organisations. [1] www.audit-commission.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tough-Times-2013-Councils-Responses-to-Financial-Challenges-w1.pdf

Schools: Finance

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on extending ring-fencing of the five to 16 years schools budget to include funding for young people aged 16 to 18.

Mr David Laws: The protection given to the 5-16 schools budget up to the end of financial year 2015-16 does not extend to the 16-18 education budget. Decisions about levels of education funding beyond financial year 2015-16 are for the next Government.

Education: Young People

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the average cost to a family of supporting a young person aged 16 to 18 in full-time education or training.

Nick Boles: My Rt hon. friend, the Secretary of State, has not undertaken such an assessment. However, I can assure the hon. Member that the Government is fully committed to ensuring that all young people, including those from the most disadvantaged families, can continue to participate in further education and training after they leave school. We are investing over £7 billion to fund a place at school or college for every 16- or 17-year-old who wants one. We recognise that some young people need additional help with the costs associated with attending further education or training, and we offer a range of financial support, which is set out here:www.gov.uk/browse/education/student-financeThe 16 to 19 Bursary Fund is a key part of our participation strategy to support young people in education and training. It allows schools and colleges to target financial support towards those who need it most. They are free to establish their own eligibility criteria for payments from the Bursary Fund, because they are best placed to identify those students experiencing the greatest financial disadvantages or course-related costs; and because they have the best knowledge of local circumstances and the individual barriers that can prevent young people from participating.Feedback gained from institutions and students indicates that the scheme is achieving its aims. The majority of institutions surveyed think the Bursary Fund is having a positive impact on young people’s participation (77%) and engagement in learning (70%). Similarly, more than three-quarters (78%) think it is effective in targeting young people facing the greatest barriers to participation.Students have also confirmed their support for the Bursary Fund with the majority of recipients surveyed saying it allows them to cope better (75%), and a third of those saying it is integral to being able to continue in education.School and academy sixth forms already have to provide free meals to disadvantaged students who are over 16. From September 2014, free meals will also be available to disadvantaged students taking further education (FE) courses across the whole FE sector, which will provide further support for families. It will also help students with their studies as we know that they perform better when they have access to good-quality, regular meals.The support I have outlined above is part of a range of measures implemented by the Department for Education that have contributed to achieving the lowest levels of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) since records began in 1994. This is important because the effects of being NEET are recognised as having a significant financial cost for the families of young people.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many officials in her Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.

Mr Nick Gibb: 3,188 staff received a rating at the end of the 2013/14 performance management year.Only staff who were identified as exceeded were eligible to receive a non-consolidated performance award. The table below shows the proportions and numbers of staff who received the three ratings.Exceeded (eligible for a non-consolidated performance award)AchievedMust ImproveNumber of staff who received the rating 7382,142308Percentage of staff who received the rating 23%67%10%

Schools: Solar Power

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to encourage schools to instal solar panels; and whether she plans to allow schools to borrow money to finance the purchase of solar panels.

Mr David Laws: The Government welcomes schools taking action to play their part in reducing carbon emissions. Solar panels could be a step towards this.In April the Government published guidance to schools on the benefits of solar technology. The publication, Power to the Pupils,[1] includes practical information for schools on finance and installation.There are, however, restrictions on school borrowing, because all spending by schools can have an impact on the public sector’s deficit and the public sector net debt.Schools have found alternatives to commercial borrowing to fund solar photovoltaic (PV) projects including community share issues and crowd funding. Some local authorities have also set up schemes to help maintained schools meet the upfront cost of a project.Taken together, this range of funding approaches should allow any school to install solar panels where they can see a value-for-money case.[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/power-to-the-pupils-solar-pv-for-schools

Schools: Solar Power

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to help schools invest in solar panels.

Mr David Laws: In April the Government published guidance to schools on the benefits of solar technology. The publication, Power to the Pupils,[1] includes practical information for schools on finance and installation.[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/power-to-the-pupils-solar-pv-for-schools

Social Workers: Training

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department made of the effect of the Step Up and Frontline social work training programmes on the availability of social work placements for other trainees.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many professional social work places will be required by the Step Up and Frontline social work training programmes in 2014-15.

Mr Edward Timpson: There were 309 participants in the Step Up to Social Work intake in January 2014 and 104 participants in the Frontline intake in July 2014. Both programmes secure commitments from participating local authorities to provide sufficient placements. The combined total of 413 is less than ten percent of the total annual intake to social work training which has been between five and six thousand per year since 2010.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many officials in her Department of each (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many officials in her Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.

Mr Nick Gibb: The information requested is based on a declaration rate of 55% and is set out in the table below. The figures provided on protected characteristics are subject to rounding due to their restricted nature and so total figures may differ slightly   Table 1: 2013-14 Performance management outturn figures for the Department for Education (actual numbers)  Protected characteristics ExceededAchievedMust ImproveHours workedPart-time7532525Full-time6601,805280GenderMale300875155Female4401,270155Age18 – 2445801525 – 495451,50018050+150560115EthnicityWhite4701,265150BME6526560Not declared205610100Disability statusDeclared disability3014035No declared disability385980115Not declared3251,025155

Free School Meals

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary school and (b) infant school pupils in (i) Barnsley East constituency, (ii) South Yorkshire, (iii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (iv) the UK received free school meals in each of the last five years.

Mr David Laws: Information on the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in 2014 is published in the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2014’ Statistical First Release.[1]Table 8a shows local authority and regional level information for primary school and nursery school pupils; parliamentary constituency level information and primary and infant school splits are not published. Barnsley East is one of five constituencies within Barnsley local authority. South Yorkshire is made up of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield local authorities. The Department for Education produces statistics on England only. The responsibility for education statistics in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales lies with each devolved administration. Information for 2010 to 2013 can be found in previous versions of this release.[2][1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2014[2] www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers

Public Records

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what targets have been set for the release of her Department's material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in her Department are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Department for Education is currently meeting its targets to release two years’ worth of records every year from 2013 until 2022. This follows the transitional timetable for moving from a 30-year to a 20-year rule for the release of education records to the National Archives. Information on progress is published every spring and autumn, and is available on the National Archives website at:www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/record-transfer-report.htmThere are three staff who review records, all of whom also perform other duties.

Ministry of Justice

Homophobia

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) charged and (b) convicted of homophobic hate crimes in the UK in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning: All forms of hate crime are deplorable and it’s important that victims are protected and have the confidence to come forward. The Government is driving forward work to tackle hostility and hate crime. We have toughened up sentencing and are working closely with the police and other agencies to increase reporting, improve support and prevent these terrible crimes happening in the first place. The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' court for offences relating to acts intended to stir up religious hatred or hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, under Sections 29B to 29G of the Public Order Act 1986, in England & Wales, from 2009-2013 (latest data available) can be viewed in table 1. The data held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on court proceedings do not specifically identify whether the stirring up hatred offence prosecuted was on grounds of religious hatred or sexual orientation. The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences relating to acts intended to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, under Sections 29B to 29G of the Public Order Act 1986, in England & Wales, from 2009-2013 (latest data available) can be viewed in table 2. 



Statistics for 2009-2013
(Excel SpreadSheet, 35.5 KB)

Julian Assange

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will list (a) how much and (b) what proportion of the surety offered by each individual to secure bail for Julian Assange has been collected.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The sums ordered by the court to be paid by those who stood surety for bail on behalf of Julian Assange have been paid in full.It should be noted that judicial discretion allows a judge to order a reduced value to be forfeited and that judicial discretion was exercised in this case. The rationale used by the judge when exercising his discretion to order a lower value for payment was set out in full in the judgement.The value of sureties offered to secure the bail of Mr Assange, the values ordered by the judge to be paid and the values collected after Mr Assange failed to appear in accordance with the conditions of his bail are shown below:IndividualSurety entered intoValue ordered for paymentValue collectedValue collected as a proportion of the value ordered for paymentTricia David£20,000£10,000£10,000100%Caroline Evans£20,000£15,000£15,000100%Joseph Farrell£5,000£3,500£3,500100%Sarah Harrison£5,000£3,500£3,500100%Phillip Knightley£20,000£15,000£15,000100%Sarah Saunders£20,000£12,000£12,000100%Vaughan Smith£20,000£12,000£12,000100%John Sulston£20,000£15,000£15,000100%Tracy Worcester£10,000£7,500£7,500100%Total£140,000£93,500£93,500100% HMCTS has robust processes in place to ensure court ordered forfeitures are collected in full. .

Magistrates' Courts: Sales

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the sale price was of magistrates' court buildings sold in 2014; and how long each was not used for court business before it was sold.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Department is committed to disposing of surplus property assets expeditiously and reducing holding costs. Five Magistrates’ Courts have been sold in 2014 as part of the MoJ’s Court Estate Reform Programme which is expected to save the taxpayer £152m by 2015 while ensuring the courts continue to operate effectively. When disposing of surplus property assets the Department always seeks to achieve best value for taxpayers’ money. The table below shows details of Magistrates’ Court buildings that have been sold in 2014, the date each Court closed and the date they were sold. In accordance with central Government guidance, the Department is required to dispose of its surplus property assets as expeditiously as possible – within six months of being declared surplus for housing and within three years for all other properties. As the following table demonstrates, this has been achieved with each of the Magistrates’ Courts sold in 2014. Court NameSale PriceDate of closureDate of SaleMelton Mowbray Magistrates’/County Court ¹ £147,000 29/07/2011 16/01/2014Tower BridgeMagistrates’ Court ² £15,500,000 01/06/2013 17/03/2014 Southport Magistrates’ Court ¹ £304,000 30/09/2011 06/05/2014 Knowsley Magistrates’ Court ¹ £250,000 25/11/2011 27/05/2014Batley and Dewsbury Magistrates’ Court ¹ £300,000 30/03/2012 26/06/2014 Footnotes ¹ Used for administrative purposes following operational closure until space could be found at alternative locations to facilitate this work. ² Joint sale with MOPAC (Police).

Licensing Act 2003

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted of an offence under sections 136, 137, 156 and 157 of the Licensing Act 2003 in each of the last four years; how many of those people fined, were fined the maximum amount stipulated in that Act for those offences; how many of those people imprisoned were imprisoned for the maximum sentence stipulated in that Act for those offences; and how much money overall was raised in fines from those convicted in each such year.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2014, Official Report, column 386W, on licensing laws, how much was raised in fines on those convicted of offences contrary to sections 141, 142, 146, 147A, 149 (1, 3, 4, 7a and 7b), 151, 152 and 153 of the Licensing Act 2003 in each of the last four years.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted of an offence under sections 138, 140, 143, 144, 145, 148, 150(1&2) and 158 of the Licensing Act 2003 in each of the last four years; how many people who were fined were fined the maximum amount stipulated in that Act for those offences; and how much overall was raised in fines from those convicted in each year.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines for licensing offences have been charged at the higher rate since the maximum fine was increased in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011; and what total amount has been raised from the increased fines.

Mike Penning: Fines imposed in individual cases are entirely a matter for the independent courts within the limits set by Parliament and following any relevant sentencing guidelines. The law requires that the amount of any fine must reflect both the seriousness of the offence and the known financial circumstances of the offender. HM Courts and Tribunals Service takes the issue of fine enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on fine defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. The courts have a range of powers to enforce payment of fines, including the use of bailiffs to seize goods, and deductions from earnings or benefits. Over recent years we have overseen improvements to the collection of financial penalties. There was a total of £290m collected against fines and related impositions in 2013/14 which was a record high and 2% more than the previous year. The Government takes the offence of sale of alcohol to minors (s 146 and s 147A of the Licensing Act 2003) very seriously and for this reason in April 2012 raised the maximum fine for the offence of persistently selling alcohol to a person under the age of 18 to £20,000 (under s 147A) in cases where alcohol has been sold twice within a period of three months from the same premises. The number of offenders convicted and sentenced to the maximum custody or fine, by selected offences under the Licensing Act 2003, in England and Wales from 2009 to 2013 can be viewed in the table below. It is not possible to identify how much has been collected against fines imposed for specific offences without carrying out a manual search of all fine account records held by Her Majesty's Courts & Tribunals Service. This information could therefore only be provided at disproportionate cost. 



Offenders conivted and sentenced
(Excel SpreadSheet, 32 KB)

Magistrates' Courts: Fines

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2014, Official Report, column 844W, on courts: fines, what offences were committed by those who were fined the maximum in magistrates' courts in the last five years.

Mike Penning: We are toughening up sentencing across the board. The number of offences for which the maximum available fine was imposed in the magistrates' courts has increased steadily since 2010. Financial penalties set at the right level can be an effective way of punishing criminals and deterring them from further offending.The offences for which the maximum available fine was imposed in the magistrates’ courts from 2009 to 2013 are listed in the table below.  



Financial penalties 2009-13
(Excel SpreadSheet, 26.5 KB)

Drugs: Misuse

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders convicted of a single offence of possession of class A drugs received (a) a discharge, (b) a fine, (c) a community order, (d) a suspended prison sentence and (e) an immediate prison sentence in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders convicted of a single offence of possession of class C drugs received (a) a discharge, (b) a fine, (c) a community order, (d) a suspended prison sentence and (e) an immediate prison sentence in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders convicted of a single offence of possession of class B drugs received (a) a discharge, (b) a fine, (c) a community order, (d) a suspended prison sentence and (e) an immediate prison sentence in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people received a caution for the possession of (a) class A, (b) class B and (c) class C drugs in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mike Penning: Drug offending is serious in itself and drug abuse also underlies a huge volume of acquisitive and violent crime which can blight communities. The independent Sentencing Council issued a sentencing guideline on drug offences, effective from February 2012, which brought sentencing guidance together for the first time to help to ensure consistent and proportionate sentencing for all drug offences that come before courts. Simple cautions are a non-statutory disposal available to the police to dispose of any offence committed by an adult and designed for dealing with low level, mainly first time offending. The Ministry of Justice issues guidance on the process to be followed by the police when they are administering simple cautions for adult offenders. The latest guidance, issued in November 2013 following the Simple Cautions Review, states that the use of a simple caution for possession of class A drugs should only be given in exceptional cases following authorisation by a senior police officer. These will be cases where there were exceptional circumstances which would mean that it was not in the public interest to prosecute. The Government is legislating in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to place statutory restrictions on the use of cautions for certain serious offences. The number and proportion of offenders that were sentenced at all courts of a single offence of possession for class A, B and C drugs by sentence outcome in 2013, England and Wales can be viewed in the table below. The number of people cautioned for possession of class A, class B and class C drugs, in England and Wales, from 2009 to 2013 (latest data available) is accessible through the Ministry of Justice website and can be viewed through the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/311319/8-outcomes-by-offence.xls. Under the heading “Drug Offences” there are links to tables containing information relation to possession of class A, class B and class C drugs, including the number of cautions, from 2009-2013. 



Number of offenders sentenced
(Excel SpreadSheet, 37 KB)

Drugs: Misuse

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what grounds offenders who received the maximum prison sentences for the possession of (a) class A and (b) class B drugs received those sentences in 2012.

Mike Penning: Drug offending is serious in itself and drug abuse also underlies a huge volume of acquisitive and violent crime which can blight communities. Parliament sets the maximum penalty for an offence to deal with the worst possible case. Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts, which must follow sentencing guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council. The guidelines provide a non-exhaustive list of factors to be taken into consideration and the court may depart from the guidelines in a particular case where it considers that it is in the interest of justice to do so.

Belmarsh Prison

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners held in HMP Belmarsh for what offences were first time offenders from 23 December 2013 to 9 January 2014.

Andrew Selous: Data are held centrally on the characteristics of the prison population on the last day of each month, so figures are not available for 23 December 2013 to 9 January 2014. Additionally, monthly and quarterly trends are typically compared using end of month and quarterly figures respectively.

Electoral Registration Officers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will consider using powers under Section 5 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the purpose of ensuring that Electoral Registration Officers are covered by the provisions of that Act.

Simon Hughes: The Government will consider the possible future extension of the Freedom of Information Act to Electoral Registration Officers. A decision to extend the Act to Electoral Registration Officers through section 5 will be taken on the basis of an assessment of the public functions they perform and the costs and benefits of such a step and follow statutory consultations with those who might be covered.

Young Offenders: Unemployment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of young offenders released in the last 12 months are not in education, employment or training.

Andrew Selous: In 2013/14 41%(1) percent of young people who had been sentenced to custody were not receiving any education, training or employment at the end of their licence period. Our Transforming Youth Custody programme is improving the prospects of effective resettlement of young people leaving custody. We are working closely with other Government Departments to provide young people with the opportunities they need, including through the Youth Engagement Fund which will help to close the attainment gap for disadvantaged 14-17 year olds, including those that have come into contact with the youth justice system.(1) Information is extracted from YOTs’ electronic case management system and is taken from the last week of the custodial licence period. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.

Prisons: Wales

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the contract to build a prison in North Wales includes a requirement to (a) employ local workers and (b) employ and train apprentices.

Andrew Selous: Lend Lease have committed to employing at least 50% of the workforce locally to the prison and have committed to providing 100 apprenticeships throughout the contract. The MoJ will monitor this during the contract duration to ensure that these commitments are delivered. Once operational, it is estimated that the prison will create around 1,000 jobs and boost the local economy by around £23m per year.

Wardship

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many court cases involving wardship there were in each of the last five years.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The wardship jurisdiction is part of the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court. It is the duty of the court to ensure that a child who is the subject of proceedings is protected and taken care of. The wardship jurisdiction means the court has custody of the child who is a ward. No important step can be taken in the child's life without the court's consent. Data for the number of wardship applications made to courts in England and Wales during each of the last five calendar years is in the table below.Applications for Wardship in England & WalesYearWardship Applications20093962010267201142820124502013452

Families

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech of 15 August 2011 calling for a family test to be applied to all domestic policy, which policies of his Department have been so assessed to date.

Simon Hughes: On 18 August 2014 the Prime Minister announced that the family test was being formalised as part of the impact assessment for all domestic policies. From October 2014, every new domestic policy will be examined for its impact on the family.

Sentencing Guidelines Council

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what meetings officials in his Department have had with the Sentencing Guidelines Council since June 2010; and (a) who was present and (b) what was discussed at each such meeting.

Mike Penning: Officials in my Department hold regular informal meetings with officials from the Sentencing Council. These are not minuted or recorded. An official from my Department attends meetings of the Council. Meetings are held one a month, and minutes are available on the Sentencing Council website.

Driving Offences: Insurance

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people convicted of driving without insurance in each local justice area in the North West were fined under £200 plus costs and victim surcharge in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013.

Mike Penning: The number of offenders fined at all courts for using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks, by police force area, within the North West Government Office Region (GOR), from 2011 to 2013, can be viewed in the table. The Court Proceeding database does not hold information on costs and victim surcharge for the years requested. 



Number of offenders fined
(Excel SpreadSheet, 24 KB)

Freedom of Information

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many  freedom of information requests his Department received in each month since January 2013.

Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly and annual statistical reports on the handling of requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The reports include statistics on the number of requests received by the Department each quarter since 2010. These reports can be accessed via the following webpage: http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/foi/implementation.

Freedom of Information

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many responses to freedom of information requests have been subject to an internal review in each year since 2010; and how many such requests initially refused were subsequently granted in each of those years.

Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice does not routinely collect statistics on the number of requests that have been subject to internal review, upheld and subsequently fulfilled. To obtain this information we would need to review each request received since 2010. Therefore, it would only be possible to provide this information at disproportionate cost.

Fines

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of changes in collection rates of fines set by the criminal courts since HM Revenue and Customs data relating to defaulters was made available to court staff.

Mike Penning: This Government takes recovery and enforcement of financial impositions very seriously and remains committed to finding new ways to encourage payment of impositions and to trace those who do not pay. This is why there has been a year on year increase in the amount of financial penalties collected over the last three years. HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) started to pilot the use of data from HM Revenue and Customs in fine collection in July 2014, albeit for a number of specifically targeted cases. It is not possible therefore to provide a meaningful estimate of the impact on collection rates at present; however HMCTS will be exploring ways to assess the impact of receiving the data over coming months.

Prisons: Homicide

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many murders there have been in English prisons in each of the last three years.

Andrew Selous: The figures we hold on murder are classified within the homicide category. Homicides in custody are defined as “any death of a person at the hands of another, including murder and manslaughter”. Homicides in prison are rare. Prisons take the responsibility of keeping prisoners, staff and visitors safe extremely seriously. Strenuous efforts are made to learn from each death and improve the understanding and procedures for managing prisoners. The government is committed to open and transparent reporting of deaths in custody and publish statistics on deaths in prison custody in England and Wales quarterly in the National Statistics “Safety in Custody” bulletin. This statistical series can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics.

Courts: Repairs and Maintenance

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding his Department has provided for the upkeep of and refurbishment of courts that are over 100 years old in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how old each magistrates' court is.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Ministry of Justice and HM Courts & Tribunals Service are unable to collate the information required to answer the question without a detailed check to ensure the information is accurate. I will write to the honourable member in due course with the information once it is available.

Public Records

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what targets have been set for the release of his Department's material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in his Department are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Simon Hughes: Each spring and autumn the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) provides a submission to The National Archives (TNA) which sets out its progress for transferring records as part of the 10 year transition from the 30 to 20 year rule. In MoJ’s most recent submission to TNA in spring 2014, the department reported that it is on track to transfer records due in 2014. MoJ’s submission forms part of TNA’s Record Transfer Report which is available at the following link:http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/record-transfer-report.htmMoJ currently has 10 members of staff that undertake record review.

Church Commissioners

Food Banks: Yorkshire and the Humber

Michael Dugher: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, how many food banks are supported by the Church of England in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) Yorkshire and Humber in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14.

Sir Tony Baldry: The Church of England supports food banks across the country in various partnership models including with other Churches and the Trussell Trust. Figures for the years specified are not currently available in all the areas requested. The Church of England is currently in the process of conducting a large-scale survey of Church of England parishes, which will provide updated figures, due to be published in 2015.

Ministry of Defence

Type 26 Frigates

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the new Type 26 frigates will be named after cities; and when he plans to announce the names of the frigates.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 September 2014 (Official Report, column 584-585W) to the hon. Member for Plymouth Moor View (Alison Seabeck).



Warships Hansard extracts 5 and 9 September 2014
(Word Document, 26.5 KB)

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2014, Official Report, column 359W, on unmanned air vehicles, whether there is a designated UK officer at Creech airbase responsible for ensuring that embedded UK officers comply with Joint Services Publication 398.

Mr Mark Francois: Yes.

Pakistan

Mr Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2014, Official Report, column 359W, on unmanned air vehicles, whether an endorsed Rules of Engagement profile has been applied to a designated area that includes any part of Pakistan.

Mr Mark Francois: There are no Rules of Engagement profiles for any part of Pakistan.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the maximum daily sortie rate is for six Tornado fast jets configured for ground attack missions.

Mr Mark Francois: I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Syria

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether targeting intelligence gathered by (a) Rivet Joint and (b) ISTAR assets has been provided to allies for targets within Syria.

Mr Mark Francois: As has been the practice of successive Governments, we do not comment on intelligence matters.

Department for Work and Pensions

Work Programme: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Barnsley East constituency have found employment lasting more than six months through the Work Programme since its inception; how many such people were aged under 24; and how many such people had a disability.

Esther McVey: The available information is given in the tables below: Number of Work Programme Job Outcomes for Payment Groups 1, 2 and 9,for Great Britain and Barnsley East Parliamentary Constituency, by Age and Employment Duration; as at 30 June 2014.  AgeEmployment DurationTotal26 weeks up to 50 weeks50 weeks or overAllTotal238,02090,850147,180Other156,54059,04097,50018 - 2481,48031,81049,670Barnsley EastTotal480190300Other2609017018 - 2422090130 Number of Work Programme Job Outcomes for Payment Groups 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, for Great Britain and Barnsley East Parliamentary Constituency, by Age and Employment Duration; as at 30 June 2014.  AgeEmployment DurationTotal13 weeks up to 25 weeks25 weeks up to 49 weeks49 weeks or overAllTotal93,26022,02027,00044,240Other57,20012,81016,27028,12018 - 2436,0709,21010,73016,130Barnsley EastTotal2707090110Other13040406018 - 24140405060Number of Work Programme Job Outcomes for Payment Groups 1, 2 and 9, for Great Britain and Barnsley East Parliamentary Constituency by Disability Indicator and Employment Duration; as at 30 June 2014.   Disability Indicator6Employment DurationTotal26 weeks up to 50 weeks50 weeks or overAllTotal238,02090,850147,180No/Unknown200,91076,350124,560Yes37,11014,49022,610Barnsley EastTotal480190300No/Unknown420160260Yes602040 Number of Work Programme Job Outcomes for Payment Groups  3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, for Great Britain and Barnsley East Parliamentary Constituency by Disability Indicator and Employment Duration; as at 30 June 2014.  Disability Indicator6Employment DurationTotal13 weeks up to 25 weeks25 weeks up to 49 weeks49 weeks or overAllTotal93,26022,02027,00044,240No/Unknown60,86013,73016,54030,580Yes32,4108,29010,46013,660Barnsley EastTotal2707090110No/Unknown200506090Yes70202020  Source: DWP Statistical Services Notes:1. Figures are cumulative and are rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding.2. Job Outcomes: The Work Programme IT payment system was updated on the 26th March 2012 and validation processes introduced in April 2012. The early data series following this was subject to fluctuations as the new system and processes bedded in. For further details please see section 4.1 of the information note available on the Work Programme Official Statistics homepage at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-programme-official-statistics-background-information-note3. Payment Group: Payment Groups are assigned by Jobcentre Plus, on the basis of a claimant’s circumstances, and benefit they receive. For more information on the payment groups, when they commenced and inconsistencies please see the information note available on the Work Programme Official Statistics homepage at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-programme-official-statistics-background-information-note4. Age: Age is fixed at the time of referral. We have provided data for the standard age group of 18 – 24.5. Employment Duration: Employment Duration is defined as the number of weeks required to claim a Job Outcome plus the number of weeks for which sustainment payments have been made. For example a job outcome paid for a customer in Payment Group 1 with one additional sustainment payment will have been in employment for 30 weeks up to 34 weeks.6. Disability Indicator: Disability is self-assessed as having a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities.7. Job Outcome payments: A Job Outcome payment can be claimed when:· There has been a either continuous or cumulative period of employment (Job Outcome payment trigger point) of 13 weeks for Payment Groups 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and 26 weeks for Payment Groups 1, 2 and 9.;· A participant has been in employment and off benefit in each week of the period (a week is defined as a 7 day period); and· The Job Outcome is after the Job Start date, i.e. a Job Outcome payment can only be claimed when a participant starts a Job after Attachment Activity has been recorded on DWP prescribed IT or clerical system.8. Sustainment payments: Providers can only claim a Sustainment payment where:· A Job Outcome has been reported;· Four continuous weeks in employment have elapsed between the Job Outcome payment date and the Sustainment payment date, or between the previous Sustainment payment date and the current Sustainment payment date.· A participant has been in employment and off benefit each week (a week is defined as a 7 day period) in the four week period; and· 15 working days have passed since the last date of the period being claimed.· Following a break in employment after the 104 weeks Allotted Time providers will no longer be eligible to receive a Sustainment payment (a break is defined as when a participant leaves employment for 2 days or more, even if they remain off benefit).

New Enterprise Allowance: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Barnsley East constituency have received the new enterprise allowance; how many such people have since claimed (i) jobseeker's allowance, (ii) income support as a lone parent and (iii) employment and support allwance; and how many of those were (A) women and (B) men.

Esther McVey: Latest statistics published last week show that since the launch of New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) in 2011 to the end of June 2014, there have been 100 NEA weekly allowance starts in Barnsley East: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/new-enterprise-allowance-april-2011-to-june-2014 The Department has made an assessment of the number of NEA participants returning to any out-of-work benefit in the following published analysis. This suggests that 78% of people who started drawing the new enterprise allowance remained off benefit continuously for 12 months. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225167/NEA_benefit_status_ad-hoc_v3.pdf The analysis is not available by type of benefit, gender or Parliamentary Constituency.

Council Tax Benefits

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) South Yorkshire, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) the UK received council tax benefit in each of the last five years.

Steve Webb: Most of the information requested is published and available for each month from November 2008 to February 2013 and can be found in Table 10 of the publication at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-and-council-tax-benefit-caseload-statistics-published-from-november-2008-to-present Please note that data for the County of South Yorkshire will be the sum of the figures for Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield local authorities. Council Tax Benefit (CTB) was replaced in April 2013 by the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme and in England the Department for Communities and Local Government is now responsible for these statistics. The Scottish and Welsh Governments have similar responsibility. Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics and can be found at:http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm The information requested for Barnsley East Parliamentary Constituency is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However a Parliamentary Constituency breakdown for CTB was produced as a one-off exercise for January 2011 and this is published at:http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107093842/http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/hb_ctb_parlc_jan11.xls

Children: Maintenance

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many requests for a departure direction were made in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many were granted.

Steve Webb: Information on the number of requests made for a departure direction is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Pensioners: British Nationals Abroad

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of British state pensioners live outside the UK.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of British state pensioners living overseas do not receive annual pension increases.

Steve Webb: Information is available on the number of UK State pension recipients who live outside the UK, this can be found on the link below to the Department’s Tabulation tool. http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/sp/ccgor/ccsex/a_carate_r_ccgor_c_ccsex_feb14.html The tabulation tool also provides information of how many of these individuals live in countries where they do not see annual increases in their State Pension. http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/sp/cccountry/ccsex/a_carate_r_cccountry_c_ccsex_feb14.html The UK Sate Pension is a contributory based pension, where nationality or citizenship do not form part of the eligibility criteria.

Children: Maintenance

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many unresolved Child Support Agency, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and Child Maintenance Service cases have been closed or are inactive, without a request from the claimant.

Steve Webb: There are currently three statutory maintenance schemes. The 1993 and 2003 schemes are delivered by the Child Support Agency and the 2012 Scheme is delivered by the Child Maintenance Service. For cases administered by the Child Support Agency, information on the reasons for cases closing following calculation is available on page 51 of the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/347753/csa_qtr_summ_stats_jun14i.pdf We are not yet in a position to release full statistics for the 2012 Scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service. When system data becomes available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Children: Maintenance

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Child Support Agency, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and Child Maintenance Service cases involving self-employed non-resident parents result in disputes between the parties over alleged earnings.

Steve Webb: This information is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Child Support Agency, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and Child Maintenance Service cases involve self-employed non-resident parents.

Steve Webb: There are currently three statutory maintenance schemes. The 1993 and 2003 schemes are delivered by the Child Support Agency and the 2012 Scheme is delivered by the Child Maintenance Service. For cases administered by the Child Support Agency, as at June 2014, the proportion of the live caseload where the non-resident parent is self employed was 7.5%. We are not yet in a position to release full statistics for the 2012 Scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service. When system data becomes available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Children: Maintenance

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proof of self-employed earnings is required for child support cases; and whether he is satisfied with those requirements.

Steve Webb: In the 1993 and 2003 schemes, self-employed earnings are usually taken from the self-assessment return that is submitted to HM Revenue and Customs, or from a tax calculation notice. This is consistent with the policy that, as for employed earners, the basis of the child maintenance liability is taxable earnings. If, at any stage, a parent with care believes that the Child Support Agency should make more enquiries it can be asked to do so, although some evidence about the matter they feel needs investigating is often required. For self-employed paying parents in the 2012 Scheme, gross income is determined by reference to gross taxable profits for the latest available tax-year. As with the 2003 and 1993 schemes, there is scope for receiving parents to provide additional evidence if they feel further enquiries into a paying parents income are required to establish the correct liability in their case.

Public Records

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what targets have been set for the release of his Department's material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in his Department are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Steve Webb: The Department’s target is to transfer 1873 records to The National Archives (TNA) by 31 December 2014. On current plans these will be transferred by the end of October 2014. After that date no files will be outstanding. There are five staff engaged in reviewing records for transfer to TNA.

Housing Benefit

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will commission a review and recalculation of the shared accommodation rate to ensure that it reflects the real cost of rooms in shared houses.

Steve Webb: The Department has no plans to review the way the Shared Accommodation Rates are calculated. The Rent Officer Services set the rates in line with the current DWP policy for uprating Local Housing Allowance and with reference to evidence of achieved rents in the local area. In 2014/15, 56 out of the 192 Shared Accommodation Rates have been increased by 4%, in those areas where there is the greatest divergence between LHA rates and local rents.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials in his Department of what (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials in his Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials in his Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.

Steve Webb: DWP demonstrates its commitment to diversity and inclusion by, amongst other things, offering a range of flexible employment policies that enable under-represented groups to experience fulfilling public service careers. As a consequence of these policies, DWP has recruited a diverse workforce made up of 69% female, 43% part-time, at least 11% black and minority ethnic, and at least 7% disabled employees. The requested data is in the tables below. The figures for performance ratings relate to the workforce at 31 March 2014. The figures for performance-related pay relates to the workforce at 31 August 2014. Changes in the workforce in the intervening period largely accounts for differences in the data. Performance marks 2013-14 by gender  ExceededAchievedMust ImproveFemale13,78645,7153,962Male5,37120,1103,006   Performance marks 2013-14 by declared ethnicity  ExceededAchievedMust ImproveWhite13,78145,2364,550Ethnic1,4145,998777 Performance marks 2013-14 by age  ExceededAchievedMust Improve16-241925858025-291,0882,55823930-341,8555,01546135-392,1546,10952840-443,1988,81371545-494,30212,6921,11350-543,68213,5571,33955-592,11610,5651,31560-644904,78486965+801,147309 Performance marks 2013-14 by declared disability  ExceededAchievedMust ImproveNon-disabled15,58952,9495,322Disabled8013,965649 Performance marks 2013-14 by work pattern  ExceededAchievedMust ImproveFull time13,09235,9203,789Part time6,06529,9053,179  Performance-related pay 2013-14  NumberPayments made85,900Payments not made9,546

Remploy

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled former employees of Remploy have moved into residential care following the closure of Remploy factories; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such closures on such employees.

Mr Mark Harper: The information you have requested is not available. The Department does not record or monitor the number of disabled former Remploy employees who are provided support in residential care. For all disabled former Remploy workers made redundant as a result of factory closures, the Government put in place the £8 million guaranteed People Help and Support Package (PHSP). The support package provides help to each affected disabled former employee for up to 18 months from the date they left Remploy.

Remploy

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled former Remploy factory workers laid off since 2012 are in receipt of Access to Work support in alternative employment.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department has asked all disabled former employees made redundant from Remploy to give permission to be tracked, but can only monitor the progress and outcomes of those individuals that give permission. From the information available up to and including 19 September 2014, 265 former Remploy disabled employees were in receipt of Access to Work support.

Remploy

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what future plans his Department has for the Remploy pension fund.

Esther McVey: A decision on the future of the Remploy pension scheme will be made as part of the process to exit Employment Services from government control. The Government has previously confirmed that the scheme will continue to be funded and that the accrued benefits of members will be protected.

Remploy

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the £8 million support package for disabled Remploy factory workers announced in 2012 has been allocated; how many personal budgets were provided to former Remploy employees; how many community support funds were granted; and whether that package has been fully spent.

Mr Mark Harper: For all disabled former Remploy workers made redundant as a result of factory closures, the Government put in place the £8 million guaranteed People Help and Support Package (PHSP). The support package provides help to each affected disabled former employee for up to 18 months from the date they left Remploy.The PHSP includes one-to-one support from a personal case worker to identify suitable help to find work including access to advice and support and access to a personal budget. Personal budget awards can pay for items such as training, tools and equipment. After 18 months is complete, specialist support will continue to be available, usually providing continuation of support from the same specialist employment advisor.Former employees have also been referred to Community Support Fund projects where, in areas affected by factory closures, local organisations support former Remploy workers to move into employment and take part in social activities. To date 827 former employees have taken part in a range of Community Support Fund activities which have helped support 348 into employment. After 18 months is complete, specialist support will continue to be available, usually providing continuation of support from the same specialist employment advisor.Up to the end of August 2014, DWP has spent around £5.5m on providing individual support.

Employment and Support Allowance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what performance benchmarks his Department has put in place for disposal and decision-making following a request for mandatory reconsideration of a decision for employment and support allowance being lodged.

Mr Mark Harper: There is no statutory time limit for DWP to complete a request for mandatory reconsideration. We deliberately do not have one as each case will be considered on its merits. Some will require days, others will require longer, for example to gather additional evidence. We want to ensure we take the right amount of time to get the right decision. Our expectation remains that the process should be completed without any unnecessary delay. We intend to develop proposals for internal performance benchmarks once we have processed more volumes of mandatory reconsiderations, and reliable data is available on which to base an internal target.

Employment and Support Allowance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of mandatory reconsideration decisions for employment and support allowance taken since 28 October 2013 have been made within (a) 14 days, (b) one month and (c) three months of being received and registered by his Department; and how many mandatory reconsideration requests have been lodged in that period.

Mr Mark Harper: The information requested is not currently available. DWP statisticians are currently working to collate and quality assure data on Mandatory Reconsideration. The Department has committed to publishing statistics as soon as Departmental statisticians judge that the data meets the standards set out in the UK Statistics Authority’s Codes of Practice. The aim is to release an initial set of official statistics on Mandatory Reconsideration by the end of 2014.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that people in part-time work who are still claiming jobseeker's allowance are able to have flexibility in relation to their sign-on date and time.

Esther McVey: Claimants with a part time job are still required to be available for and actively seeking work as it is important to ensure that they do not miss out on the opportunities available through the Jobcentre. If required, Work Coaches can agree a different signing on time and day in order to accommodate the claimant’s work pattern.

Employment Schemes: Asperger's Syndrome

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to assist people with Asperger's syndrome to find appropriate work.

Mr Mark Harper: DWP is an active member of the Autism Programme Board (APB) formed in 2009, and contributes regular feedback to the group on progress made to improve services for people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions, including Asperger’s Syndrome and associated Hidden Impairment conditions. DWP is strongly committed to sponsoring the work activity of the Hidden Impairment National Group (HING). The HING comprises of disabled people with Hidden Impairment conditions; medical professionals/academics and disability organisations and was formed in 2010 to support DWP to improve service provision for people with Autism and associated Hidden Impairment conditions. In March 2014 DWP hosted an Autism Stakeholder Review in partnership with the Department of Health and the National Autistic Society. The aim of this event was to identify ways that DWP can improve its service for people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions and associated Hidden Impairment conditions. From this event DWP has developed an Autism Strategy Plan that focuses on 3 key issues: · Development of autism awareness training for DWP staff/managers· To promote the Autism agenda to the widest possible audience· To work closely with the provider community to ensure their understanding of the Autism agenda. In support of these actions DWP is currently developing a Local Office Self- Assessment Framework to help Jobcentre Plus managers to assess their local capacity to fully support people with Autism and associated Hidden Impairment conditions. The Hidden Impairment Toolkit (produced by the HING) is available to all DWP staff and promotes awareness of Autistic Spectrum Conditions and Hidden Impairment conditions. We are keen to share this free resource with the widest possible audience including other Government Departments; employers and provider organisations and have been able to do so through the Disability Confident campaign, aimed at employers, and the Accessible Britain Campaign, aimed at empowering communities.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) resident in the London Borough of Havering have found full-time work and subsequently had their JSA stopped in each year since 2011.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of benefits resident in the London Borough of Havering have been convicted and subsequently sentenced to a term of imprisonment in each year since January 2011.

Esther McVey: Table 1 shows the estimated number of individuals who were resident in Havering and were on benefits at some point in the four weeks before a court conviction which resulted in a custodial sentence. The estimated numbers are shown by calendar year for 2011 and 2012, based on the year of the conviction. Figures for later years are not available. Table 1: Estimated number of individuals sentenced to custodial sentences in Havering, in 2011 and 2012, who were on benefits at some point in the four weeks before conviction.  Year of convictionIndividuals claiming the following benefits20112012Disability Living Allowance (DLA)2010Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)2030Incapacity Benefit (IB)2010Income Support (IS)2010Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)4050Other DWP benefits 11010Total individuals100100 1 Other DWP benefits – Carer’s Allowance, Pension Credit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Passported Incapacity Benefit, Bereavement Benefit, Widows Benefit and Retirement Pension – have been grouped due to low volumes. BackgroundThe total population of Havering was 240,000 in 2011 and 2012, with a corresponding working age population (aged 16-64) of 151,000. Claimants of ESA, IB, IS and JSA will be of working age whilst DLA claimants may be under 16. During 2011 and 2012, around 19,000 residents of Havering were claiming one of the above benefits at any given point in time, with over 5,000 of these claiming JSA. Notes· Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. · These figures have been derived from the National Benefits Database linked to Police National Computer data taken from the 2013 MoJ-DWP-HMRC data share. This data only includes offenders for whom a link to DWP or HMRC data could be found – 19% of total offenders in England and Wales are not included, either because they have never had a DWP or HMRC record or, due to issues with data quality or consistency, it was not possible to find a match between the offender data and the DWP/HMRC data. As a result, these are likely to be underestimates. · The figures are based on individuals who are recorded as being resident in Havering according to their relevant record in the National Benefits Database. They may not have been resident in Havering at the time of conviction. · Individuals may be claiming multiple benefits at once; consequently, an individual may appear in more than one benefit category, but will only appear once in the total. Hence, the totals for each calendar year are less than the sum of the number of claimants for each benefit type. Where an individual incurred more than one prison sentence in the year, they are only included once for each benefit per year. · Overall population and benefit claimant statistics have been taken from Local Authority Labour Market data as recorded on NOMIS (www.nomisweb.co.uk).

Translation Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much language translation services within his Department have cost in each year since January 2011.

Steve Webb: The amount spent by the Department for Work and Pensions on language translation services since January 2011 is as follows: YearTotal spend2011/12£436,3362012/13£580,9372013/14£542,972

Jobseeker's Allowance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many recipients of jobseeker's allowance possess a poor understanding of spoken and written English.

Esther McVey: Findings from the Skills for Life Survey 2011 (the most recent survey conducted) show that of those claiming jobseeker’s allowance 23% were below Level 1[1] in English literacy. The full Skills for Life publication can be found using the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/36000/12-p168-2011-skills-for-life-survey.pdf  [1] The Skills for Life survey defines “functional literacy” as level 1 or above.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many current recipients of jobseeker's allowance have declared that they have a Phd qualification.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that people in receipt of jobseeker's allowance receive adequate CV-building skills.

Esther McVey: Jobcentre Plus work coaches are delivering a personalised service to best meet the needs of the claimant and the local labour market. Work Coaches can offer claimants a comprehensive menu of support options including skills provision, help with writing a CV and interviewing skills. This model of flexible pre-Work Programme support is available from day one of unemployment.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Greater Manchester

Mr Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will investigate the reasons for the level of sanctioning of jobseeker's allowance in the Greater Manchester area being more than a third higher than the national average.

Esther McVey: We deploy a comprehensive monitoring regime to check that sanctions are applied appropriately across our network. Where any site is making significantly more or fewer referrals than we would typically expect, we review their activity to ensure sanctions are being applied appropriately.

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he will begin to publish the quarterly surveys carried out by the Child Maintenance Options Service on the child maintenance outcomes for parents who use its service.

Steve Webb: It is our intention to publish the results of the Child Maintenance Options survey by the end of the year.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Field Sports: Scotland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the future of the country sports industry in Scotland after 2014.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the future of deer hunting in Scotland after 2014.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has had no recent discussions with the Scottish Government on the future of the country sports industry or deer hunting in Scotland after 2014. The Government recognises the important contribution that country sports make to rural life, the economy and the environment.

Land: Scotland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on land reform in Scotland after 2014.

Dan Rogerson: There have been no recent discussions with Scottish Ministers regarding the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill. This is a devolved matter.

Stray Dogs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many stray dogs were put down in each of the last three years.

George Eustice: Defra does not keep records of the number of stray dogs euthanised as this is carried out by a combination of local authorities and some dog charities.

Dogs: Diseases

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce the incidence of paroxysms in puppies.

George Eustice: No action is being taken on this specific condition. However, under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, owners or keepers must provide for the needs of their pet including its health. If anyone is concerned about an incidence of paroxysm in their puppy, they should consult their veterinarian.

Stray Dogs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of stray dogs in each of the last three years.

George Eustice: Defra does not keep a record of the total number of stray dogs. However, according to the annual Dogs Trust survey there were an estimated 126,000 stray dogs handled in 2011; 118,000 in 2012; and 111,000 in 2013.

Families

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech of 15 August 2011 calling for a family test to be applied to all domestic policy, which policies of her Department have been so assessed to date.

Dan Rogerson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by my Rt. Hon. Friend for Thornbury and Yate, Steve Webb, on Monday 13th October 2014, to PQ UIN 208864.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Private Rented Housing: Alarms

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 50W, on smoke alarms, when he expects to publish the Government's response to the consultation on requirements for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in the private rented sector.

Brandon Lewis: DCLG published a discussion document earlier this year, which invited views on what more could be done to improve property conditions in the private rented sector. Responses are now being considered on the responses submitted to questions 15 (Smoke alarms) and 16 (Carbon Monoxide alarms). We will publish our response along with a summary of the views submitted later this year.

Radicalism

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Welsh Government on tackling extremism; and whether he has any plans for a meeting with his counterparts in the administrations to discuss tackling extremism across the UK.

Stephen Williams: Extremism runs counter to fundamental British values such as freedom of speech, democracy and the rule of law. It can lead people to violence and divide our communities. All parts of government and civic society must confront it. National security and policing are reserved matters in Wales. The Home Office has the lead for counter-terrorism, including the Prevent programme. The Home Office works closely with their Welsh colleagues on tackling extremism, including taking forward the new cross-government counter-extremism strategy. My Department leads on integration in England, which is devolved in Wales. We are open to sharing experience and information with Welsh colleagues on matters of mutual interest.

Private Rented Housing

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will wait until the Government publishes its response to the Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector before taking forward the Deregulation Bill.

Brandon Lewis: The Government has stated its clear intent to use the Deregulation Bill to help reform the outdated provisions of section 25 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973.Londoners who want to rent out their homes for less than 90 consecutive days, such as through a service like Airbnb, technically still have to pay to apply for planning permission from their council – something that does not apply anywhere else in the country. These provisions caused controversy during the 2012 Olympics, and are irregularly enforced by different London boroughs leading to confusion.We want to change this archaic system by giving Londoners the freedom to rent out their homes on a temporary basis, such as when they are on holiday, without having to deal with unnecessary red tape and the bureaucracy of paying of a municipal permit. The internet is changing the way we work and live, and the law needs to catch up.The measure will not allow homes to be turned into hotels or hostels – this would still require ‘change of use’ planning permission, and measures will be put in place to prevent abuse of such reforms or the permanent loss of residential accommodation.Such reforms will benefit London’s strong tourism industry by expanding the pool of competitively priced accommodation, and allow families to earn some extra cash when they themselves go away on holiday.Such reforms would follow changes introduced last year to make it easier for residents to rent out an unused home parking space to earn extra money, helping expand the availability of parking options for commuters and visitors.Consultation with interested parties will help inform the detail of secondary legislation to implement these reforms fully. We will publish the Government’s response to the consultation on the Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector later this year.

Change of Use

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the proposed minimum space standards for adoption can be applied by local authorities to prior approval requests for conversions of offices to residential accommodation.

Brandon Lewis: The prior approval procedure for change of use from office to residential allows a local authority only to consider the transport and highways impacts of the development; contamination risks on the site; and flooding risks on the site. Permitted development rights are helping us to make more efficient use of our existing building stock and are bringing forward much needed new homes, including more studio and one bedroom flats for young people. The new dwellings would be subject to Housing Health and Safety Rating System regulations on space and crowding and many aspects of the building regulations including fire safety, sound insulation and energy efficiency.

Affordable Housing: Construction

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many affordable homes have been built in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley local authority area, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: Statistics on additional affordable housing provided in each local authority area in England are published in the Department’s live tables 1006, 1006a, 1007 and 1008, which are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply These figures include both newly built housing and acquisitions. The Department does not publish statistics on additional affordable housing for parliamentary constituencies or for Wales.

Housing: Construction

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of completed new houses were built on brownfield land in the latest period for which figures are available.

Brandon Lewis: The proportion of new dwellings in England built on previously-developed land can be found in Table P211 of the Live Tables on Land Use Change Statistics, which is available from:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-land-use-change-statistics

Pay

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) direct employees, (b) outsourced workers and (c) workers in agencies which report to his Department are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Kris Hopkins: My Department and its agencies have no direct employees, outsourced workers or workers in agencies earning less than the hourly living wage rate as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Public Records

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what targets have been set for the release of his Department's material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in his Department are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Kris Hopkins: Over the 10 year period for the release of material to the National Archives to meet the transition to the 20 Year Rule, the estimated number of files DCLG will transfer to the National Archives, based on current holdings, is as follows:Year20122013201320142014201520152016201620172017201820182019201920202020202120212022Target transfers362797284254254220172210280288Actual transfers362797 The actual number of files transferred may vary depending on the number of files identified for final deposit with the National Archives. Records review, including sensitivity reviewing, forms an element of the work of several staff, and amounts to 2 full time equivalent staff members in total.

Local Government: Devolution

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will participate in a conference with the Local Government Association and others on the issues raised in the Third Report of the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, Session 2012-13 Prospects for codifying the relationship between central and local government, HC 656.

Kris Hopkins: In the first instance, I refer the hon. Member to the Government Response to the Committee Report (CM 8623). The Government supported further localism and decentralisation, but disagreed with the suggestions of a statutory code, imposing new taxes or making changes to the Parliament Act. Ministers consider invitations as they are received, subject to Ministerial and other diary commitments.

HM Treasury

Social Services

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to National Minimum Wage Compliance in the Social Care Sector published by HM Revenue and Customs in November 2013, what steps he has taken since that date to tackle low pay in the social care sector.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to National Minimum Wage Compliance in the Social Care Sector published by HM Revenue and Customs in November 2013, what proportion of workers found to be receiving less than the national minimum wage were women.

Mr David Gauke: HMRC investigates every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline and conducts risk-based enforcement activities in sectors or areas where there is a higher risk of workers not getting paid the legal minimum wage. The Government is also taking specific action to improve compliance with national minimum wage legislation in the social care sector. The Department of Health has recently consulted on statutory guidance for local authorities as part of the package of secondary legislation to accompany the Care Act, which explicitly states that local authorities should have evidence that contract terms, conditions and fee levels will not compromise care providers’ ability to pay (at least) minimum wages. Responses to the consultation are currently being analysed and the final guidance will be published in October.  BIS is also working with HMRC to identify how best to promote the useful information for workers and employers contained in HMRC’s evaluation report on the social care sector. It is also considering the next steps to increase compliance in this sector.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Michael Dugher: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley local authority, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) England have completed the purchase of a house through the Help to Buy scheme.

Andrea Leadsom: The Help to Buy scheme continues to support responsible lending with the average property value considerably less than the national average. The average house price under the scheme as a whole is around £190,000, compared to the national average of £272,000. Over 50,000 households have benefitted from the scheme to date. The scheme is supporting lending in all regions and over 94% of mortgages bought under the scheme have been outside London. Mortgage completions have been particularly high in the North West and Scotland. The Government publishes quarterly Official Statistics relating to the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme. The most recent of these were published on 2 September.This report, along with accompanying tables, can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantee-scheme-quarterly-statistics-october-2013-to-june-2014 The Government also publishes monthly statistics on the number of homes purchased with the support of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by local authority in England. This data can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics

Personal Income: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of changes in median household real income before housing costs in Barnsley East constituency since May 2010.

Mr David Gauke: Figures for median household real income before housing costs are not available at constituency level.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many officials in his Department of each (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.

Andrea Leadsom: The Treasury is implementing the Civil Service Employee Policy Performance Management System in 2014-15, so the data requested is not available for 2013-14.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many officials in his Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.

Andrea Leadsom: The Treasury is implementing the Civil Service Employee Policy Performance Management System in 2014-15, so the data requested is not available for 2013-14.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many officials in his Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.

Andrea Leadsom: The Treasury is implementing the Civil Service Employee Policy Performance Management System in 2014-15, so the data requested is not available for 2013-14.

Taxation

Margot James: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the tax gap was in each of the last nine years; and what estimate he has made of the tax gap that was due to tax evasion in each of the last nine years.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) publish estimates of the tax gap in Measuring Tax Gaps each year. The 2013 edition presents a time series of tax gaps from 2005-06 to 2011-12, which can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/249537/131010_Measuring_Tax_Gaps_ACCESS_2013.pdf HMRC has also produced an illustrative breakdown of the tax gap by behaviour, including evasion, for the years 2007-08, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. These are not comparable year on year because the data available doesn’t enable estimates to be updated for earlier years. Table 1 below shows the estimates of evasion published in previous HMRC publications for these years. Table 1: Estimates of evasion previously published  Publication Year of estimate  Amount (£bn)Percentage of tax gap in year of estimateMeasuring Tax Gaps 2013 2011-12 5.1 15%Measuring Tax Gaps 2012 2010-11 4 14%Measuring Tax Gaps 2011 2009-10 4 12%Protecting Tax Revenues 2009 2007-08 7 17.5% Previous editions of ‘Measuring Tax Gaps’ can be accessed at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/measuring-tax-gaps The HMRC publication ‘Protecting Tax Revenues 2009’, can be accessed at the following link: (http://irscot.inrev.gov.uk/budget10/pbr/00notices/docs/5450_other.pdf) The 2014 edition of Measuring Tax Gaps, covering estimates for 2012-13, will be published on 16 October.

Tax Evasion

Margot James: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs spent on dealing with tax evasion in each of the last nine years.

Mr David Gauke: Since 2010, the Government has been determined to support HMRC in tackling tax evasion, and has invested nearly £1 billion in HMRC’s compliance activities. It is not possible to say how much HMRC have spent on tackling tax evasion in each of the last nine years as HMRC works on a risk basis tackling behaviours. Work on tax evasion is not confined to one directorate within HMRC. Therefore the information is not held in the format requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Public Records

Sir Alan Beith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what targets have been set for the release of his Department's material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in his Department are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Andrea Leadsom: TargetsTreasury is working with the National Archives (TNA) to ensure that legacy records are reviewed and transferred in line with statutory requirements. Targets are as follows:- To review and transfer all archives up to and including 1984 by January 2014- To review and transfer archives from 1985 and 1986 in January 2015- To routinely review and transfer 2 years’ worth of archives every year from 2016 until 2022- By 2023 to be routinely reviewing and transferring archives to TNA, no later than 20 years after they are closed ProgressTreasury has made progress in transferring both policy and private office records to TNA, though is currently running one year behind target. We expect to complete review and transfer of archives up to 1984 by March 2015, and archives from 1985 to 1986 by March 2016. ResourcesTreasury is working with an external supplier on review and transfer work. In-house support is comprised of 1 project manager and 2 records reviewers.

Tourism: VAT

Mr Mark Williams: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the report by Nevin Associates Ltd, entitled The fiscal impact of lower VAT rates on visitor accommodation and attractions in the United Kingdom: Final Report, published in July 2014, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the conclusion on page 29 of that report that a reduction in VAT on tourism would generate a positive net present value of £3.9 billion for his Department over the course of 10 years and would create 123,000 jobs in the tourism sector.

Mr David Gauke: The Government does not always agree with the conclusions of the reports it receives, nor the assumptions underlying them. I refer the Hon gentlemen to my comments during the Westminster Hall debate on 11 February 2014.

Financial Services: Cayman Islands

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the incidence of financial crime in the Cayman Islands.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government, including the Treasury, works closely with the Cayman Islands to share lessons learned and best practice on financial crime matters. As part of the UK’s G8 action plan to prevent misuse of companies and legal arrangements, the Government has committed to support all the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to publish Action Plans setting out the concrete steps, where needed, to fully implement international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force. They have published these action plans, and have committed to carry out their National Risk Assessments. The Cayman Islands is also a member of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), the Caribbean regional body responsible for assessing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The UK is an observer to CFATF.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Green Deal Scheme: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many people in Barnsley East constituency have received Green Deal funding.

Amber Rudd: The Department reported that there were 42 Green Deal Cashback vouchers paid in Barnsley East constituency up to 30th June 2014, and 59 ‘live' Green Deal Plans (with measures installed) had been taken out in Yorkshire and The Humber. We cannot break this down to a lower geographic level at present for confidentiality reasons:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/green-deal-energy-company-obligation-eco-and-insulation-levels-in-great-britain-quarterly-report-to-june-2014 .Geographic breakdowns on the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) will form part of the more detailed quarterly series planned for publication on 18th December 2014, covering the period up to the end of September 2014.

Electric Cables

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what criteria are applied by his Department to determine whether new electricity transmission cables should be laid below or above ground.

Matthew Hancock: The energy National Policy Statements provide guidance to developers and interested parties on applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects in England and Wales, including transmission lines.The National Policy Statement for Electricity Networks Infrastructure (EN-5 – https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/47858/1942-national-policy-statement-electricity-networks.pdf) makes it clear that my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State will only refuse consent for overhead line proposals in favour of an underground or sub-sea line if he is satisfied that the benefits from the non-overhead line alternative will clearly outweigh any extra economic, social and environmental impacts and the technical difficulties are surmountable (paragraph 2.8.9). Factors to be considered include:the landscape in which the proposed line will be set;the additional cost of any undergrounding or sub-sea cabling; andthe environmental and archaeological consequences.

Energy: Meters

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether customers who refuse to have a smart meter will be expected to pay for manual meter readings.

Amber Rudd: The Government is not aware of any plans by the energy suppliers to introduce differential charging for consumers with traditional meters. Ofgem will be monitoring suppliers throughout the roll-out and will expect to engage with them should suppliers develop plans to introduce such charging for consumers with traditional meters. It will keep issues surrounding the fair treatment of these consumers under review.

Energy: Meters

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many smart meters have been installed.

Amber Rudd: DECC releases statistics on a quarterly basis which give details of the number of smart meter installations by the larger energy suppliers. The latest release, published on 18 September 2014, details installations up to the end of quarter two 2014, and can be found on the Gov.uk website on the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistical-release-and-data-smart-meters-great-britain-quarter-2-2014.

Energy: Meters

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many of the smart meters installed are SMETS 2 compliant.

Amber Rudd: The Government is currently finalising the second version of the Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specifications (SMETS 2). As SMETS 2 is not yet in force, no installed smart meters currently meet it. We expect SMETS 2 smart meters to be available for the main installation stage.The first version of the specifications (SMETS1) was designated by the Secretary of State on 18 December 2012 to allow suppliers to install and operate smart meters during the Foundation Stage of the Programme if they so wish, and thus facilitate early learning and benefits.

Pay

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many (a) direct employees, (b) outsourced workers and (c) workers in agencies which report to his Department are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Amber Rudd: I can confirm that from April 2014 there were no Civil Servants or contractors employed on DECC premises who were paid less the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation in either London or Scotland.DECC has no executive agencies.

Schools: Solar Power

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps his Department has taken to encourage schools to install solar panels since 2010.

Amber Rudd: Potential benefits for schools from deployment of solar PV include reduced energy bills, revenue generation, carbon savings, and enhanced educational opportunities.In April the Government published a guidance leaflet for schools, making the case for installing Solar PV on our schools and providing a checklist and information on financing. The Government is continuing to work with industry to deliver the suite of measures set out in the Solar PV Strategy to remove barriers to deployment on medium scale rooftops.We have asked the solar sector and NGOs to work together on developing approaches which will facilitate deployment on schools and we continue to work with them as appropriate.

Electricity Interconnectors

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, under what timetable electrical interconnectors will be allowed to participate in the capacity market auctions on an equal basis with domestic generators.

Matthew Hancock: The Government has confirmed that interconnection will be eligible to participate in the Capacity Market auction from 2015 onwards.

Electricity Interconnectors

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions officials in his Department have had with the European Commission on the principle of electrical interconnectors being allowed to bid in the new capacity market auctions.

Matthew Hancock: The Government made clear in December 2011 when it announced its decision to develop a Capacity Market that interconnected capacity should in principle be able to participate within the mechanism. We have worked since that time to achieve this aim, including discussing this issue with the European Commission on a number of occasions.On 25th September, we published, for consultation, our proposals for enabling interconnectors to participate in the Capacity Market. As part of this process, we will continue to discuss this issue with the Commission before introducing legislation in early 2015.

Northern Ireland Office

Administrative Scheme for the "On the Runs" Independent Review

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answers of 4 September 2014, to UIN numbers 207794, 207797 and 207798, who the individual members of the On-The-Runs Policy Oversight Board will be; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The OTR Policy Oversight Board was established to address the issues raised by the Hallett Report. It is chaired by NIO Permanent Secretary, Sir Jonathan Stephens. NIO officials and Legal Advisers, the Attorney General’s Office, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Home Office are represented. The Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service are a consultee to the group, and the Department of Justice are an observer to the group. The Metropolitan Police/ACPO and the Crown Prosecution Service are invited as needed.The Board does not in any way impact on the operational independence of the police and prosecuting authorities, or the complete independence of decision-making by those authorities.Having consulted with the independent police and prosecuting authorities, my statement of 9 September was the approach which represented the fairest, promptest and most effective way to reduce the risk to future prosecutions and to provide the clarity called for in the Hallett Report.I have placed a copy of the Terms of Reference of this group in the House Library.

Economic Situation

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of potential direct consequences for the Northern Ireland economy of a Scottish vote in favour of independence.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: On 18 September 2014, the Scottish Independence Referendum took place and Scotland decisively voted to stay part of the United Kingdom. In line with the Edinburgh Agreement, the UK Government is committed to respecting the outcome of what has been a legal, fair and decisive process.

Families

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech of 15 August 2011 calling for a family test to be applied to all domestic policy, which policies of her Department have been so assessed to date.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: On 18 August 2014, my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister announced that the family test was being formalised as part of the impact assessment for all domestic policies. From October 2014, every new domestic policy will be examined for its impact on the family.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many officials in her Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The number of officials in my Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System that (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14 is set out below.The response relates only to Home Civil Servants as Northern Ireland Civil Servants (NICS) seconded staff have a different performance management system, with different markings.  ExceededMet/Must improveMust improveDeclared disabilityNone declared**Full-time1376****Part-time150  * Given the small numbers of staff involved, fewer than five, it would not be appropriate to provide a greater break down as to do so would risk the identification of the individuals concerned.** Figures for “Must improve” have been merged with “Met”; given the small numbers of staff involved it would not be appropriate to provide a greater break down as to do so would risk the identification of the individuals concerned.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many officials in her Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: All Home Civil Servants (HCS) in my Department completed the Performance Management system in 2013-14. Of these, 14 (14.7%) received the “exceeded” marking and qualified for a non-consolidated bonus.The remaining 81 staff (85.3%) were ranked as “met” or “must improve”. No staff in these categories qualified for a bonus.Given the small number of staff who were ranked as “must improve”, it would not be appropriate to provide any further breakdown as to do so would risk the identification of the individuals concernedThe response relates only to HCS staff as NICS seconded staff have a different performance management system with different markings and to which no pay awards are attached.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many officials in her Department of what (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The number of officials in my Department of what (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14 are set out below.  GenderEthnicityAgeExceededFemale 12Male 210 Undeclared;4 declared but given low numberscannot provide further details.25-29 - 130-34 - 535-39 - 445-49 - 355-59 - 1MetFemale 42Male 3949 undeclared;30 white/English/British;2 declared in other categories but given low numberscannot provide further details.  20-24 - 225-29 - 630-34 - 835-39 - 540-44 - 1145-49 - 2150-54 - 1155-59 - 1160-64 - 565-70 - 1Must improveFemale *Male **** Figures for “Must improve” have been merged with “Met”; given the small numbers of staff involved it would not be appropriate to provide a greater break down as to do so would risk the identification of the individuals concerned.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Written Questions

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of named day written questions were answered by his Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date.

Mrs Helen Grant: The proportion of named day written questions, answered on time by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in the prescribed periods, are in the table.  Proportion of named day written questions answered on time2012/201374%2013/201477%2014 / 2015 to date94%

Telecommunications: Greater London

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps Ofcom is taking to encourage new entrants in the market for mobile and fixed wireless services in the London area.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ensuring high quality of service and choice are priority areas for Ofcom. While Ofcom cannot compel providers to invest in particular areas, it has taken a number of steps to ensure that the regulatory regime supports competition and commercial rollout. In 2010, Ofcom introduced requirements to allow competing providers to use infrastructure from Openreach, the wholesale provider which manages BT’s telecoms network, to deliver superfast services. Ofcom has been reviewing competition in the wholesale broadband market over the past year. In addition, it is also undertaking a review of business connectivity, which is looking at how well competition is working in the provision of dedicated connections known as leased lines. In addition, in auctioning the spectrum suitable for 4G mobile broadband services, Ofcom put in place requirements to ensure spectrum was reserved for a fourth competitor. Alternative providers are now offering superfast services using 4G mobile broadband and a combination of wireless technologies in London. Finally, Ofcom has granted an extension to a wireless spectrum licence held by UK Broadband Ltd. The company intends to deploy a national wireless broadband network focusing on major urban areas and reaching an estimated 45% of the UK’s population. It has already rolled out fixed wireless services to parts of London.

Telecommunications

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many households in (a) England and Wales, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) Barnsley East constituency do not have access to (i) a fibre optic broadband connection, (ii) high speed broadband and (iii) the internet.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom have reported that Internet availability is virtually 100% across the whole United Kingdom. Ofcom has also published fixed broadband data by local area, for example in its infrastructure report (stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/telecoms-research/broadband-speeds/infrastructure-report-2013/) and map (maps.ofcom.org.uk/broadband/), which included the data for 2013: AreaNext Generation Access broadband availability 2013Broadband take-up (including superfast broadband) 2013Superfast broadband take-up 2013England76%72%16%Wales48%70%9%Barnsley70.3%66.9%17.3%Doncaster76.1%69.3%15.9%Rotherham72.6%70.3%13.8%Sheffield81.3%68.5%17.7%  Ofcom is likely to publish updated numbers later in 2014. It did not however publish data on a constituency basis. Broadband take-up may be higher than these numbers suggest, as some households use mobile broadband but not fixed broadband and Internet usage likely to be higher still, as some individuals access the internet away from home.

Arts Council

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much the Arts Council has spent per head of population in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The total ACE Funding in South Yorkshire in 2013/14 was more than £1 higher than it was in 2009/10. The Barnsley East figure increased by almost four times over the same period. Barnsley East – Spend per year – per head of population2009/10£0.302010/11£0.122011/12£0.712012/13£0.332013/14£1.11  South Yorkshire– Spend per year – per head of population2009/10£4.682010/11£3.442011/12£4.392012/13£8.072013/14£5.71  England and Wales – Spend per year – per head of population2009/10£10.052010/11£9.332011/12£9.482012/13£13.492013/14£10.91

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many officials in his Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.

Mrs Helen Grant: The table sets out the number of employees, within each performance category, who have declared a disability. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) takes seriously its obligations to collect diversity data as required by the Equality Act 2010. All staff have been asked to provide personal diversity data to be held anonymously, and we continue to encourage increased declaration by staff. As such these figures will not be fully representative of workforce diversity  i) Disability DCMSEYR Rating  DisabilityExceptionalGoodMust ImproveNot disclosed31645No5276 Prefer not to say*  Yes*8  *The disclosure of numbers where they amount to fewer than five could enable identification of individuals to whom this information relates. This would amount to a release of their personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act   ii)&iii) Full –time/part –time  The following table sets out the number of employees, within each performance category, who work full time or part time. DCMSEYR Rating  Part time full timeExceptionalGoodMust ImproveFull Time79138*Part Time810* *The disclosure of numbers where they amount to fewer than five could enable identification of individuals to whom this information relates. This would amount to a release of their personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many officials in his Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.

Mrs Helen Grant: The table sets out the number of employees who completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; and the proportion of those officials who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark. and how many and what proportion who (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus. DCMSEYR RatingExceptionalGoodMust ImproveGrand TotalTotal871485240Percentage36%62%2%100% BonusEligible Not eligible Grand Total 36%64%100%

Public Records

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what targets have been set for the release of his Department's material to the National Archives; what progress has been made in meeting those targets; and how many staff in his Department are engaged in reviewing records for that purpose.

Mrs Helen Grant: Ongoing work with TNA is allowing the Department to develop a plan to assess the volume of work in this area and the resource needed for DCMS to meet it’s commitments. We would expect to be in a position to set out targets in time for the May 2015 Record Transfer Report.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many officials in his Department of each (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.

Mrs Helen Grant: The table sets out the number of employees within each performance category for the 2013-14 reporting year for assessments received to date by gender, ethnicity and age.  a) Gender DCMSEYR Rating  GenderExceptionalGoodMust ImproveFemale4562*Male4286*Grand Total87148  *The disclosure of numbers where they amount to fewer than five could enable identification of individuals to whom this information relates. This would amount to a release of their personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act b) EthnicityThe Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) takes seriously its obligations to collect diversity data as required by the Equality Act 2010. All staff have been asked to provide personal diversity data to be held anonymously, and we continue to encourage increased declaration by staff. As such these figures will not be fully representative of workforce diversity DCMSEYR Rating  EthnicityExceptionalGoodMust ImproveNot disclosed35645Any Other Ethnic Background * Asian - Indian * Asian - Pakistani** Black - African * Black - Caribbean * Black - Other*  Mixed - Black Caribbean & White * Mixed - Other** Prefer not to say** White4869  *The disclosure of numbers where they amount to fewer than five could enable identification of individuals to whom this information relates. This would amount to a release of their personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act  c) Age DCMSEYR Rating  AgeExceptionalGoodMust Improve16-24*5 25-291612 30-341421 35-391130*40-441016*45-491720*50-541023 55-59*13*60-64*7 65+ *  *The disclosure of numbers where they amount to fewer than five could enable identification of individuals to whom this information relates. This would amount to a release of their personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act

Children: Privacy

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that newspapers only publish photographs of children when they have parental consent to do so.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government has introduced a new system of independent self-regulation of the press that protects press freedom whilst offering real redress when mistakes are made. This is a matter for independent press self-regulators. The Government has no plans formally to review the law in this particular area.

Department of Health

General Practitioners

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many training places for general practice were (a) commissioned and (b) filled in each of the last five years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department set up Health Education England (HEE) to deliver a better health and healthcare workforce for England. HEE is responsible for ensuring a secure workforce supply for the future balancing need against demand, taking into account factors such as the age profile of the existing workforce, the impact of technology, and new drugs. The Department has recognised the need to increase the general practitioner (GP) workforce and between September 2010 and September 2013, the number of full time equivalent GPs has risen by 1,051. Additionally, the Department has included in the HEE mandate a requirement that “HEE will ensure that 50% of trainees completing foundation level training enter GP training programmes by 2016”. Further work is being undertaken by HEE to improve applications and fill rate in to GP training to support the mandate target of 3,250 appointments into GP training by 2016 in England. This includes a review of the GP recruitment process, developing a pre-GP year to give exposure to prospective GP applicants of the specialty and careers advice for foundation doctors and medical students. In recognition of the contribution the GP workforce makes in the NHS, HEE will also undertake additional work on GP recruitment and retention, return to practice and reducing attrition rates, all of which will play a part in increasing the GP workforce. The following table indicates the number of posts commissioned and filled and the fill rate for GP training in England for the last five years. The numbers of posts have been increased for 2014 to 2,946 to support the government’s mandate requirement for HEE to increase GP training.Posts CommissionedPosts Filled% Filled20102,7322,800102.49%20112,6722,65899.48%20122,6872,66999.33%20132,7612,73899.17%20142,946 3,0432,63089.27% Source: HEE data Deferment resulting from factors such as maternity leave can cause a higher than 100% fill rate in some years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department set up Health Education England (HEE) to deliver a better health and healthcare workforce for England. HEE is responsible for ensuring a secure workforce supply for the future balancing need against demand, taking into account factors such as the age profile of the existing workforce, the impact of technology, and new drugs. The Department has recognised the need to increase the general practitioner (GP) workforce and between September 2010 and September 2013, the number of full time equivalent GPs has risen by 1,051. Additionally, the Department has included in the HEE mandate a requirement that “HEE will ensure that 50% of trainees completing foundation level training enter GP training programmes by 2016”. Further work is being undertaken by HEE to improve applications and fill rate in to GP training to support the mandate target of 3,250 appointments into GP training by 2016 in England. This includes a review of the GP recruitment process, developing a pre-GP year to give exposure to prospective GP applicants of the specialty and careers advice for foundation doctors and medical students. In recognition of the contribution the GP workforce makes in the NHS, HEE will also undertake additional work on GP recruitment and retention, return to practice and reducing attrition rates, all of which will play a part in increasing the GP workforce. The following table indicates the number of posts commissioned and filled and the fill rate for GP training in England for the last five years. The numbers of posts have been increased for 2014 to 2,946 to support the government’s mandate requirement for HEE to increase GP training.Posts CommissionedPosts Filled% Filled20102,7322,800102.49%20112,6722,65899.48%20122,6872,66999.33%20132,7612,73899.17%20142,946 3,0432,63089.27% Source: HEE data Deferment resulting from factors such as maternity leave can cause a higher than 100% fill rate in some years.

DNA

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the role of mitrochondrial DNA in addition to energy-related functions.

George Freeman: I refer the honourable Member to the answer given by my hon. friend (Jane Ellison) of 7 July 2014, Official Report, Col. 38W to the hon. Member for Congleton. www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm140707/text/140707w0002.htm#14070761002001 Paragraph 2.1 in the Scientific Report of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) expert panel also describes the function of mitochondrial DNA. This report can be found on the HFEA’s Website at: www.hfea.gov.uk/6372.html

Prisons: Mental Health Services

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve conditions for prisoners with mental health problems in prisons in England; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: NHS England is improving prison mental health services through nationally developed service specifications, which are being rolled out across the prison estate in England, ensuring that there are national standards against which services can be measured.   Identification of those offenders with problems including mental health, learning difficulties and other vulnerabilities by liaison and diversion services may facilitate relevant support to these offenders, rather than a criminal justice system intervention. This has potential to reduce caseload numbers and effectively divert away from custody or community sentences.   NHS England has rolled out a new, all age national Liaison and Diversion standard service specification and operating model to 10 trial schemes, serving 22% of the English population. Following evaluation of these schemes by 2015 and Treasury approval of a full business case in 2015, NHS England will roll out to cover 100% coverage of the population by 2017-18.   Improving offender mental health is a priority for the Government, as set out in the mental health strategy No Health, Without Mental Health in 2011. We have acted upon the recommendations of Lord Bradley’s 2009 review of people with mental health problems and learning disabilities in the criminal justice system, to ensure that prisoners have the same access to mental health services as the rest of population.   In addition, the Government’s Mandate with NHS England commits NHS England to develop better healthcare services for people in the criminal justice system. We have also asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop guidelines on improving the mental health for people in prison, which it expects to publish in 2016.

NHS: Staff

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the additional 10,000 primary and community health and care professionals which his Department plans to make available by 2020 will be (a) existing NHS staff and (b) new starters.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for ensuring a secure workforce supply for the future balancing need against demand, taking into account factors such as the age profile of the existing workforce, the impact of technology, and new drugs, and is committed to a substantial increase in training posts to deliver new primary and community health professionals by 2020. In addition, Health Education England and NHS England are bringing forward actions to improve retention and return to practice rates within the current general practitioner, nurse and Allied Health Professional workforce. It is too early to say what proportion of additional professionals will be existing National Health Service staff or new starters.

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which clinical commissioning groups have awarded contracts to provide community services to non-NHS providers or consortia that include non-NHS providers; and what the estimated or confirmed lifetime value of each of those contracts is.

Jane Ellison: The Department does not hold information on which clinical commissioning groups have contracts with National Health Service or non-NHS providers.

Clinical Commissioning Groups: Worcestershire

Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what annual funding per head of population was provided to the South Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Group in each of the last five years; and what the average such spend was on all Clinical Commissioning Groups in England.

Dr Daniel Poulter: NHS England has responsibility for clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations.   CCGs have only existed since April 2013, so there is only information regarding South Worcestershire CCG allocations for years 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16, as detailed in the following table:Allocation per head 2013-14 (£)Allocation per head 2014-15 (£)Allocation per head 2015-16 (£)South Worcestershire CCG1,0231,0401,052Average CCG1,1151,1331,147 A copy of the detailed CCG allocations for 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16, published by NHS England on 20 December 2013, has already been placed in the Library and is also available at:   www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ccg-allocation-big-table-v2.pdf

Stem Cells: Donors

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve awareness of stem cell donation among 16 and 17 year olds.

Jane Ellison: NHS Blood and Transport (NHSBT) manages the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR), the NHS Cord Blood Bank (NHS CBB) and provides specialist services related to the provision of stem cells which can turn into blood cells for the treatment of blood cancers and is responsible for raising awareness of these issues.   NHSBT recruits stem cell donors to the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR) exclusively from the pool of active blood donors (aged 17 years and above), however those wishing to join at age 16, can do so through The Anthony Nolan Trust.   All registered stem cell donors are in the United Kingdom's aligned register. Anthony Nolan manages this single UK bone marrow register, which is known as the 'Anthony Nolan & NHS Stem Cell Registry', and is aligned with the NHS British Bone Marrow Registry and the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry.   NHSBT has programmes in place to support education about donation and transplantation for children and young adults including Give and Let Live, a national education programme aimed at promoting awareness of bone marrow, blood, tissue, cord blood and organ donation amongst 14-16 year old pupils.

Community Nurses

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve recruitment and retention in NHS community and district nursing.

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to set national recruitment targets for NHS community and district nurses.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department set up Health Education England (HEE) to deliver a better health and healthcare workforce for England. HEE is responsible for ensuring a secure workforce supply for the future balancing need against demand, taking into account factors such as the age profile of the existing workforce, the impact of technology, and new drugs.   In December 2013, HEE published its first annual workforce plan for England, covering the period 2014-15. This plan was determined through an assessment of future need by local National Health Service employers, and Local Education and Training Boards (LETBs) and used as the basis of an investment plan for England, which included community and district nursing requirements, alongside other professions.   Working in concert with NHS healthcare providers, HEE is leading a programme of work to encourage nurses to return to practice. This work includes ensuring that the education programmes being commissioned are effective and meet the needs of patients and the NHS. All programmes are validated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Community Nurses

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate staffing levels and skill mix within NHS community nursing teams.

Dr Daniel Poulter: An important part of the National Health Service reforms was to establish clinical commissioning groups at which commissioning decisions are informed by a wide range of local clinicians. Therefore, the shape of community nursing services are organised locally, following advice from clinicians. This commissioning process also takes into account the local authority’s views through the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and the local Health and Wellbeing Strategy, to ensure that services are based on the need of the local population, within the resources available and on evidenced-based best practice.   NHS England has commissioned the Queen’s Nursing Institution to develop a workforce planning tool to support local areas in making sure they have the right number of community nurses for their needs. The Chief Nursing Officer has also set up a working group which is looking specifically at what we can do to increase the number of community nurses.   The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is also planning to produce guidance on safe staffing for community nursing care settings over the next two years. The development of this guidance and accreditation of related tools will ensure that all providers have what they need to make decisions to secure safe staffing levels.

NHS: Negligence

Mrs Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS has paid out for wrongful birth claims in each year between 2003 and 2013; how many successful claims for wrongful birth were made in each year between 2008 and 2012.

Mrs Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the neonatal conditions were that accounted for successful wrongful birth claims between 2003 and 2013.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The following table shows the number of successful claims for wrongful birth made in each year between 2003 and 2013, and how much the National Health Service has paid out to date for those claims:   NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA)notification yearNumber of ClaimsDamages Paid(£)Defence Costs Paid(£)Claimant Costs Paid(£)Total Paid (£)2013-141613,00055,109068,1092012-1320624,335222,348268,9001,115,5832011-12115,460,470473,481475,0006,408,9512010-11217,537,000428,7181,214,4009,180,1182009-10124,240,211197,724346,6004,784,5352008-09194,563,663538,7872,012,1127,114,5622007-081615,572,500615,2201,936,38518,124,1052006-07102,326,500188,381477,6992,992,5802005-06116,886,680608,2071,182,5088,677,3962004-051111,446,226585,6641,407,30513,439,1942003-041719,046,063976,6203,280,66123,303,344Total16477,716,6484,890,25912,601,57095,208,477   A further 83 unsuccessful claims were brought during this period, the following table shows how much the NHS LA spent on defence costs in each year:   NHS LANotification YearClosed with nil damagesNumber ofClaimsDamages Paid(£)Defence Costs Paid(£)Claimant Costs Paid(£)Total Paid (£)2013-14808,87008,8702012-1310057,836057,8362011-126018,946018,9462010-119069,630069,6302009-10309,76509,7652008-0911032,061632,0672007-085050,415050,4152006-077060,314060,3142005-06300002004-0511051,727051,7272003-0410099,996099,996Total830459,5606459,565   Of the 164 successful claims, 60 cases remain open (i.e. the NHS LA has not resolved all aspects of the claim, e.g. they have agreed damages but not yet paid them or they have paid some or all of the damages but not yet agreed claimants costs). The 104 closed claims have been analysed to produce the following table of neonatal conditions/ other reasons why the claims were brought:   Neonatal conditions/other causes of claimNumber of ClaimsAnaemia1Cerebral Palsy3Chromosome 9 deformity1Congenital abnormalities24Connective tissue disease1Cystic fibrosis4Downs Syndrome8Failed contraceptive implant/procedure - Healthy baby8Failed sterilisation - Healthy baby24Failed sterilisation - kidney damage1Failed sterilisation - potential learning difficulties1Failed sterilisation - termination undertaken1Failed termination - brain injury1Failed termination - healthy baby6Failure to diagnose pregnancy - healthy baby1Heart defect1HIV1Inaccurate fertility advice - healthy baby1Inherited blood disorder - Beta thalassaemia1Muscular skeletal abnormalities1Ornithine trans carboxylase (OTC) deficiency2Safeguarding failure (vulnerable mother) – child has behavioural problems1Safeguarding failure (vulnerable mother) - healthy child1Sickle Cell Trait3Spina bifida3Unwanted extra uterine pregnancy. Maternal injury. No evidence of neonatal conditions1Unwanted pregnancy - No evidence of neonatal conditions2Wolf Hirschhon Syndrome1Total104

Women and Equalities

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, how many officials in the Government Equalities Office who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.

Jo Swinson: The table sets out the number of Government Equalities Office employees, within each performance category, who have declared a disability. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) takes seriously its obligations to collect diversity data as required by the Equality Act 2010. All staff have been asked to provide personal diversity data to be held anonymously, and we continue to encourage increased declaration by staff. As such these figures will not be fully representative of workforce diversity i) Disability GEOEYR Rating  DisabilityExceptionalGoodMust ImproveNot disclosed*10*No78*Prefer not to say * Yes ** *The disclosure of numbers where they amount to fewer than five could enable identification of individuals to whom this information relates. This would amount to a release of their personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act   ii)&iii) Full –time/part –time  The table sets out the number of Government Equalities Office employees, within each performance category, who work full time or part time. GEOEYR Rating  Part time full timeExceptionalGoodMust ImproveFull Time9175Part Time**  *The disclosure of numbers where they amount to fewer than five could enable identification of individuals to whom this information relates. This would amount to a release of their personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act The figure given in the tables are for staff completing a 2013/14 performance report as part of the DCMS Employment Policy Performance Management System. The GEO headcount for staff covered by this system at 31 March 2014 was 50: this included staff who had recently transferred to DCMS (GEO) from other Government Departments, or had recently returned to DCMS (GEO) after e.g. maternity leave, and are therefore excluded from the total shown.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, how many officials in the Government Equalities Office completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.

Jo Swinson: The table sets out the number of Government Equalities Office employees who completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; and the proportion of those officials who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark and how many and what proportion who (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus. GEOEYR RatingExceptionalGoodMust ImproveGrand TotalTotal1021536**Percentage28%58%14%100%  BonusEligible Not eligible Grand Total 28%72%100% ** The figure given is for staff completing a 2013/14 performance report as part of the DCMS Employment Policy Performance Management System. The GEO headcount for staff covered by this system at 31 March 2014 was 50: this included staff who had recently transferred to DCMS (GEO) from other Government Departments, or had recently returned to DCMS (GEO) after e.g. maternity leave, and are therefore excluded from the total shown.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, how many officials in the Government Equalities Office of what (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.

Jo Swinson: The table sets out the number of Government Equalities Office employees within each performance category for the 2013-14 reporting year for assessments received to date by gender, ethnicity and age. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) takes seriously its obligations to collect diversity data as required by the Equality Act 2010. All staff have been asked to provide personal diversity data to be held anonymously, and we continue to encourage increased declaration by staff. As such these figures will not be fully representative of workforce diversity.  a) Gender GEOEYR Rating  GenderExceptionalGoodMust ImproveF715*M*6* *The disclosure of numbers where they amount to fewer than five could enable identification of individuals to whom this information relates. This would amount to a release of their personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act  b) Ethnicity GEOEYR Rating  EthnicityExceptionalGoodMust ImproveNot disclosed*9*Any Other Ethnic Background* *Asian - Indian* *Black - African***Black - Caribbean * Mixed - Other * Prefer not to say * White*8* *The disclosure of numbers where they amount to fewer than five could enable identification of individuals to whom this information relates. This would amount to a release of their personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act  c) Age  GEOEYR Rating  AgeExceptionalGoodMust Improve25-29** 30-34*5 35-39** 40-44 **45-49*7*50-54***55-59** 60-64  * *The disclosure of numbers where they amount to fewer than five could enable identification of individuals to whom this information relates. This would amount to a release of their personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act